Nine states accused of panel makers suspected of price manipulation

As the saying goes, “Kyushu is coming early and the new sights are on the horizon”, but for the panel industry, following previous anti-trust lawsuits filed against Asian panel makers in several US states, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas, and Michigan have increased in recent days. In five states, including West Virginia, a total of nine states have accused the panel makers of suspicious control of panel prices and filed civil lawsuits. This has become a situation in which “Kyushu has come and reports that all parties need money”.

Lawyers estimate that in the past when the DRAM industry was involved in antitrust civil litigation, a total of more than 30 states in the United States had filed similar claims. Therefore, the number of lawsuits filed against the panel industry in the future will definitely only increase.

According to foreign reports, the chief prosecutors of Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas, Michigan, and West Virginia recently announced that they have been jointly affiliated with the Northern District of California, including Taiwan’s AUO and Chi Mei Power. Caijing, Hitachi, Sharp, South Korea’s LGD, and Samsung’s subsidiaries in the United States and their subsidiaries in the United States filed civil lawsuits. According to reports, the Wisconsin antitrust law imposes a fine of US$100,000 on each defendant’s company. The damage caused by illegal activities is compensated three times. Missouri chief prosecutor Chris Koster asked the court to issue a restraining order against the defendant's manufacturer to avoid similar price manipulation in the future.