Hawaii consumers who bought laptop computers, computer monitors and televisions between 1999 and 2006 containing liquid crystal displays, or LCDs, made by any of 10 electronics companies are eligible to file claims in a $1.1 billion settlement to a national class-action lawsuit.
Products must have been purchased from a third-party vendor, and claims must be filed online or postmarked by Thursday. No proof of purchase is necessary.
Honolulu lawyer Steven Hisaka, Hawaii class counsel in the lawsuit, said he suspects 50,000 to 100,000 Hawaii consumers are eligible for a payment.
"But I don’t believe anywhere near that amount has applied to date," he said.
The minimum payment expected is $25, but claimants could receive more depending on the number of products purchased and the total number of claimants.
The lawsuit was brought against AU Optronics, Chimei, Chunghwa, Epson, HannStar, Hitachi, LG, Sharp, Samsung and Toshiba. It alleged that the LCD manufacturers engaged in price fixing, which led to consumers overpaying for those products.
The companies denied any wrongdoing but agreed to settle for $1.1 billion to provide consumers in 24 states and the District of Columbia with refunds, the plaintiffs said on lcdclass.com.
"Certainly to my knowledge and the people I work with, this is the single largest class-action lawsuit for consumers in the U.S.," Hisaka said. "And if all states had similar (consumer protection) laws, the damages could potentially have been doubled."
The lawsuit was filed because of an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into these and other manufacturers for antitrust violations and price fixing, on behalf of companies that purchased the LCD screens for use in consumer products, Hisaka said.
"It resulted in these (LCD) companies paying fines in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and there were actually several executives from these companies who were found to be guilty of federal crimes," he said.
As of September eight companies and 12 executives have been convicted of charges related to the Department of Justice investigation, according to a department news release.
To file a claim online or download the claim form to mail in, go to lcdclass.com.
