SAN FRANCISCO — Thirty-four states filed lawsuits in U.S. federal court here against eight DRAM manufacturers and their subsidiaries, charging price-fixing. The lawsuits are part of a coordinated effort, according to a statement released by the New York state attorney general's office Thursday (July 13).
Since 2002, the Justice Department has been conducting a probe of alleged DRAM price fixing in the late 1990s and early part of this decade.
Four companies and 12 executives have so far pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy and have been assessed more than $730 million in fines.
In May, three of the four companies, Samsung Electronics, Hynix Semiconductor Inc. and Infineon Technologies AG agreed to pay a total of $160 million to settle class action suits related to price fixing. Elpida Memory Inc., the fourth company to plead guilty, is still involved in the class-action suits.
The lawsuits charge that DRAM manufactures maintained a secret agreement to raise prices from about 1998 to sometime in 2002. The suits target Samsung, Hynix and Infineon, as well as Micron Technology Inc., Mosel-Vitelic Corp., Nanya Technology Corp., Elpida Memory Inc. and NEC Electronics America Inc. The suits seek unspecified damages and restitution.
Micron admitted wrongdoing in the federal probe, but received immunity from federal criminal charges in return for cooperating. Justice Department officials have called the conspiracy "one of the largest cartels ever discovered."
According to New York's lawsuit, DRAM manufacturers regularly exchanged price information and other confidential business data in order to raise the prices that OEMs and other DRAM customers paid for memory chips. The suit seeks to recover damages on behalf of consumers and local governments in New York, according to the attorney general's office.
"The defendants in this case conspired to rig the U.S. market for this essential computer product, working together to keep prices artificially high," said Bill Lockyer, attorney general for California. "In the process, they victimized individual consumers, governmental agencies, schools and taxpayers."
RSS
Digital
10 emerging technologies to watch:
EE Times has compiled a list of emerging technologies that we think will be worth watching out for in 2010. Biofeedback or thought-control of electronics are among the contenders.
Hot applications in 2010:
We've compiled a list of 10 technology applications you should watch for in 2010, ranging from e-book readers to 3-D TVs. We examine the features that make these apps so compelling as well unresolved issues.
Top 25 predictions for semis in 2010:
2010 is just beginning to unfold in the electronics industry. Looking into our crystal ball, we have released our own chip forecasts--and other predictions--for 2010.
Seven things to fix in 2010:
The editors of EE Times came up with their own informal list of things we hope engineers fix in 2010, spanning everything from nano-lithography to space travel. What do you want to see get done this year?
'09 moves that are shaping the future:
This was a brutal year, but the industry gets a nod for showing grace under fire. Here's our Top 10 guide to the coming year, illustrating what to expect in 2010.
10 CEOs out in 2009:
It's been a tough year for the global electronics industry and CEOs. We survey the dismissal of 10 industry CEOs during the first three quarters of 2009 and what's ahead for the rest of the year.
Notable women in microelectronics:
There is no better time than a global economic recession to examine the keys to successful corporate governance. So, EE Times has compiled an international list that celebrates women who are business and technology leaders in semis.
EE Times updates Silicon 60:
Seventeen companies have been added to the lastest version of our Silicon 60 list of emerging startups. Forty-three companies survived as emerging companies that are still worth watching.
RSS| 
Digital| 
Mobile
