Washington TV, Computer Monitor CRT Class Action Settlement

Seven electronics TV and computer manufacturers have agreed to pay more than $39 million to settle price-fixing claims against them.

Washington consumers who purchased any CRT monitor or television from March 1, 1995, to Nov. 25, 2007, can file the claim for compensation money.  The consumer who resided in Washington at the time of purchase can file a claim with receipt of purchase. Moreover, people who bought the CRT monitor/TV from a retailer, and purchased the system for their personal use instead of resale.

Case Summary:

The price-fixing Washington TV class action lawsuit was filed by the State Attorney General of Washington. The lawsuit claimed that Seven Electronics manufacturers had worked together to fix, raise, maintain, or stabilize the prices of cathode ray tubes (CRT) in TV and computers.

What is CRT?

A CRT is a vacuum tube that displays images in televisions and monitors, which are used by manufacturers for similar purposes in the electronic device.  Before LCD, Plasma, and LED displays, CRT displays were commonly used by the manufacturers.

The Washington State Attorney General argued that the consumers were harmed when they paid fake high prices for their CRT televisions and computer monitors made by ‘seven electronics’.

But, the companies do not admit any wrongdoing and agreed to pay separate settlements in order to resolve the claims. The details of each manufacturer’s payments are as follows:

• Chunghwa – $125,000
• Hitachi – $275,000
• LG – $1.5 million
• Panasonic – $450,000
• Philips – $7 million
• Samsung – $29 million
• Toshiba – $1.3 million

According to the Washington State Attorney General’s announcement, Class Members can collect up to $20 per CRT monitor and up to $6 per CRT television. For the compensation benefits, class members need to file a valid claim before 16, 2019. You can submit the claim either on the settlement website or can be mailed to the settlement administrator.

Note: There is no last date for exclusion and not even any date is there for final hearing. Class members need to check the settlement site regularly for these dates.

Who are eligible to file the claim?