Capacitors Price-Fixing Antitrust Litigation

The Joseph Saveri Law Firm is sole Lead Counsel in a class action lawsuit filed in July 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of direct purchasers of aluminum, tantalum, and film capacitors.

The lawsuit alleges that capacitor manufacturers, faced with declining demand, agreed to raise, fix, and stabilize capacitor prices. Capacitors are devices placed in electric circuits that temporarily store electrical charge, and nearly every electronic device manufactured today contains them. Trillions of capacitors of various size, capacitance, and materials are manufactured each year. Price-fixing in the multibillion-dollar market for aluminum, tantalum (a rare metal), and plastic film capacitors may have started as far back as 2002 and continues to the present day.

The U.S. Department of Justice, along with regulators in China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, and Europe, is actively investigating the price-fixing allegations. One Japanese corporation requested that the DOJ grant it amnesty from prosecution in exchange for reporting about the capacitor manufacturers’ illegal collusive conduct. To date, three capacitors manufacturers have been sentenced for violating the federal antitrust laws following their plea agreements with the DOJ. Three more have publicly stated that they will plead guilty to the same charges.

Through this lawsuit, the firm seeks relief for direct purchasers of capacitors including, among other things, recovery of treble damages for the unlawful overcharge on capacitors resulting from the defendants’ collusion. To date the firm has reached settlements totaling over $100 million with various defendants (see below). More information on these settlements is available at the In re Capacitors Antitrust Litigation settlement website.

The firm continues to investigate these price-fixing allegations, as well as any injuries U.S. businesses or consumers may have suffered as a result of the capacitor manufacturers’ illegal agreements. Please contact the firm if you or your company purchased capacitors—either from capacitor manufacturers or any of their wholesale distributors—and have information or documents related to any agreements to fix prices on capacitors; or you are involved in or are knowledgeable about the capacitors industry and believe you have information that can assist the firm in its ongoing investigation.

March 2, 2018

Judge James Donato of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California entered an Order preliminarily certifying a settlement class of Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs in In re Capacitors Antitrust Litigation.

Settlements totaling $66,900,000 have been reached with Defendants Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd., Hitachi AIC, Inc., Hitachi Chemical Co. America, Ltd.; Soshin Electric Co., Ltd., and Soshin Electronics of America Inc.

The lawsuit is continuing against defendants that have not previously settled.

December 21, 2017

Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs (“DPPs”) submitted to the Court a Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement with Defendants Hitachi Chemical and Soshin. The settlements create an all-cash fund of $66,900,000 for the benefit of the Settlement Class: $63,000,000 for Hitachi Chemical and $3,900,000 for Soshin. In addition, each of the Settling Defendants also agreed to cooperate with DPPs in their continued prosecution of their price-fixing claims against the non-settling Defendants. This proposal by DPPs follows materially similar procedures for notifying the Settlement Class and adopts the same allocation formula for distributing the Settlement Funds, as what the Court preliminarily and finally approved for the first round of settlements DPPs reached with Defendants Fujitsu Limited; NEC TOKIN Corporation and NEC TOKIN America, Inc.; Nitsuko Electronics Corporation; Okaya Electric Industries Co., Ltd. and Okaya Electric America, Inc.; and ROHM Co., Ltd. and ROHM Semiconductor USA, Inc. DPPs request that the Court grant preliminary approval of the Settlement Agreements, certify the Settlement Class, and approve the proposed plan of notice to the Settlement Class.

Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement with Defendants Hitachi Chemical and Soshin

JULY 11, 2017

(Department of Justice – Office of Public Affairs) “Including today’s charge, the Antitrust Division has now charged seven companies and ten individuals for participating in a long-running conspiracy to fix the price of a critical component in electronic devices used by millions of American consumers,” said Director of Criminal Enforcement Marvin Price of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “But our investigation is not over. We are continuing to pursue the companies and executives who conspired to undermine competition in this vital industry.”

Electrolytic capacitors store and regulate electrical current in a variety of electronic products, including computers, televisions, car engines and airbag systems, home appliances and office equipment.

Today’s charge results from ongoing federal antitrust investigations being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office into price fixing, bid rigging, and other anticompetitive conduct in the capacitor industry. Anyone with information related to the focus of this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, visit https://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations, or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.

JUNE 27, 2017

United States Northern District Judge James Donato ordered in favor of Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs, granting final approval and dismissal of class action settlements with Defendants Fujitsu Limited; NEC TOKIN Corporation and NEC TOKIN America, Inc.; Nitsuko Electronics Corporation; Okaya Electric Industries Co., Ltd. and Okaya Electric America, Inc.; and ROHM Co., Ltd. and ROHM Semiconductor USA, Inc. The settlements total $32,600,000 in cash and secure agreements by each of the five settling defendants. The Court also granted Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs’ request for $8,150,000 in attorneys’ fees and $3,000,000 for incurred expenses. For further information, please consult:

In re Capacitors Settlement Website

Court Order: Granting Final Approval of Class Action Settlements

Court Order: Granting Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs’ Motion for Attorney Fees and Expenses Reimbursement

Court Order: Final Judgment of Dismissal – Fujitsu Limited

Court Order: Final Judgment of Dismissal – NEC TOKIN

Court Order: Final Judgment of Dismissal – Nitsuko Electronics Corporation

Court Order: Final Judgment of Dismissal – Okaya

Court Order: Final Judgment of Dismissal – ROHM

APRIL 2017

The Court approved Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs’ settlement with Fujitsu Limited; NEC TOKIN Corporation and NEC TOKIN America, Inc.; Nitsuko Electronics Corporation; Okaya Electric Industries Co., Ltd. and Okaya Electric America, Inc.; and ROHM Co., Ltd. and ROHM Semiconductor U.S.A., LLC (collectively the “Settling Defendants”) totaling $32.6 million.

DECEMBER 30, 2015

The Court issued an Order denying Defendants’ motions (except for American Shizuki Corporation’s motion) to dismiss Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs’ claims.

JULY 2014

Joseph Saveri Law Firm filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of direct purchasers of aluminum, tantalum, and film capacitors. The lawsuit seeks damages on behalf of a class of direct purchasers under Section 1 of the Sherman Act.