Samsung enters $90M settlement with states in price fixing case
Pittsburgh Business Times
Pennsylvania and 42 other states have tentatively settled a lawsuit brought against Samsung for what the states said was the company's involvement in a conspiracy to fix prices on computer chips.
The settlement covers consumers and state and local governments who purchased "dynamic random access memory" or "DRAM" chips at what the attorneys general said were inflated prices set by Samsung and other manufacturers. DRAM chips hold data and temporary instructions used by personal computers and in other digital applications.
The states reached the agreement with Samsung Semiconductor Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. over charges that the companies were part of a national conspiracy to fix the price of dynamic random access memory chips between 1999 and 2002.
Samsung will pay $80 million to U.S. consumers and businesses that overpaid for the chips and the equipment containing them, such as computers, servers and other electronic devices. The remaining $10 million will go to agencies in the 42 states involved in the settlement.
The share of the settlement that will go to Pennsylvania consumers depends on the number of claims filed. The settlement is subject to court approval.
The complaint alleged that Samsung had illegally exchanged pricing and other information with competitors over a four-year period starting in the early 2000s. That amounted to illegal price-fixing, authorities said.
If approved by the court, the nationwide settlement with Samsung Electronics and Samsung Semiconductor Inc. would resolve allegations that the companies fixed prices of some memory chips in conjunction with other manufacturers.
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