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LCD Manufacturers To Pay $1.1 Billion In Price-Fixing Settlement

flickr/Todd Austin

In the late 1990s, there were what were called "Crystal Meetings". Top executives from ten Asian-based tech companies met in hotels and bars in Taiwan to set the price of LCD screens.  In other words, price-fixing.

Customers and businesses who purchased LCD screens from ten manufacturers, including Samsung, Sharp and Toshiba between 1999 and 2006 can file a claim online at LCDClass.com. They agreed to pay a multi-state settlement of $1.1 billion. 

"I just hope that this sends a clear message to other corporations that they should not conspire to fix prices," Donna Flanagan says. "That they will get caught and they will be brought to justice."

Flanagan, a Charlotte resident, is North Carolina's lead plaintiff in the case.  She purchased a Macintosh desktop computer with an LCD screen in November 2001 for more than $2,200 dollars. The screen was traced back to one of the ten companies. She was represented by Charlotte lawyer James Wyatt, since the lawsuit was first filed in 2007. 

North Carolina is one of the 24 states represented in the settlement.  

The deadline to file a claim is December 6, 2012. No proof of purchase is required. The amount people receive depends, in large part, on the number of claims.