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Did Your Business Purchase One or More Electrolytic Capacitor(s) and/or Film Capacitor(s)?
YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO RECOVER MONEY!
2nd Round Filing Deadline:
February 18, 2022
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Eligible Class Members
All persons and/or entities (excluding federal governmental entities, instrumentalities of the federal government, states and their subdivisions) who or which purchased one or more Electrolytic Capacitor(s) and/or Film Capacitor(s) f rom a distributor (or f rom an entity other than a Defendant) that a Defendant or alleged co-conspirator manufactured, f rom January 1, 2002 through July 15, 2016. See below for residency requirements* and/or class period specifics.** There is a separate class action for entities that purchased Electrolytic Capacitors and/or Film Capacitors directly f rom the Defendants or alleged co-conspirators. Contact FRS for more information on that case and settlements.
Defendants
The Defendants are comprised of NEC TOKIN Corp. and NEC TOKIN America, Inc. (collectively, “NEC”); Nitsuko Electronics Corp. (“Nitsuko”); Okaya Electric Industries Co., Ltd. (“Okaya”); Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd., Hitachi Chemical Co. America, Ltd., Hitachi AIC Inc. (collectively, “Hitachi”); Soshin Electric Co., Ltd. and Soshin Electronics of America, Inc. (collectively, “Soshin”); Rubycon Corp. and Rubycon America, Inc. (collectively, “Rubycon”); Holy Stone Enterprise Co., Ltd., Holy Stone Holdings Co., Ltd., Holy Stone Polytech Co., Ltd. and Milestone Global Technology, Inc. (collectively, “Holy Stone”); Nippon Chemi-Con Corp. and United ChemiCon, Inc. (collectively, “NCC/UCC”); Nichicon Corporation and Nichicon (America) Corporation (collectively, “Nichicon”); and Panasonic Corp. and Panasonic Corp. of North America (collectively, “Panasonic”); Elna Co., Ltd. and Elna America Inc. (collectively, “Elna”); Matsuo Electric Co., Ltd. (“Matsuo”); Nissei Electric Co., Ltd.; SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.; SANYO Electronic Device (U.S.A.) Corp.; Shinyei Kaisha, Shinyei Technology Co., Ltd., Shinyei Capacitor Co., Ltd., Shinyei Kaisha Electronics (M) SDN. BHD., and Shinyei Corporation of America (collectively, “Shinyei”); Taitsu Corp. (“Taitsu”); and Toshin Kogyo Co., Ltd.
Capacitor Settlements
First Round of Settlements:
The First Round of Settlements with Panasonic ($4.7 million), Nichicon ($21.5 million), NEC ($13.25 million), Nitsuko ($800,000), Okaya ($900,000), Hitachi ($14 million), Soshin ($590,000), Rubycon ($4.5 million), Holy Stone ($2 million), NCC/UCC ($13.5 million), Elna ($2.25 million) and Matsuo ($2.5 million) totaled $80.49 million. The claim filing deadline was March 23, 2020. Late claims are subject to Court approval.
Second Round of Settlements:
The Second Round of Settlements with Shinyei ($150,000) and Taitsu ($150,000) total approximately $300,000 and is limited to persons or entities that made qualifying purchases in CA, FL, MI, MN, NE and/or NY.* These settlements are pending final approval. The deadline to file a claim is February 18, 2022.
**The class period for the Nitsuko settlement is January 1, 2003 through March 29, 2016; the class period for the Okaya settlement is January 1, 2002 through April 14, 2016; the class period for the NEC settlement is April 1, 2002 through July 15, 2016; the class period for the Shinyei and Taitsu settlement is January 1, 2002 through February 28, 2014; the class period for the Panasonic, Hitachi, Soshin, Rubycon and NCC/UCC settlements regarding Film Capacitors is January 1, 2002 through February 28, 2014; and the class period for the Panasonic, Nichicon, Hitachi, NCC/UCC, Rubycon, Elna, Matsuo and Holy Stone settlements regarding Electrolytic Capacitors is April 1, 2002 through February 28, 2014.
Case History
Several class action lawsuits were filed in 2014 alleging that the Defendants violated antitrust laws by unlawfully conspiring for nearly a decade to fix the prices of Electrolytic Capacitors and Film Capacitors sold in the United States. These lawsuits were subsequently consolidated in the Northern District of California. Since then, the class has reached settlements with the Settling Defendants in the approximate amount of $80.79 million. The litigation is currently ongoing against the Non-Settling Defendants and it is possible that additional funds may become available to the Class as the result of a trial or future settlements.
Definition of Electrolytic Capacitors:
Electrolytic Capacitors are generally a component of circuit boards which store and distribute electricity at certain times. They can be made of aluminum, ceramic and/or tantalum, and are typically sold in units of 1,000. When purchased as a stand-alone product, Electrolytic Capacitors are directly traceable to the specific manufacturer.
Definition of Film Capacitors:
Film Capacitors are a type of capacitor which uses insulating plastic film and one of two conductive materials, propylene or polyester. For purposes of this lawsuit, film capacitors include the following four generations: (1) film and aluminum foil capacitors, (2) film and other metal capacitors, (3) layered capacitors, and (4) surface-mount capacitors (i.e., capacitors without leaves).
This is one of many class actions we are following. If you are interested in learning more about this case or the class action administration services in general, feel free to contact us of fill out the form above.
This is not an official Court Notice. Information contained in this Summary is subject to change. Class Counsel or the Settlement Administrator may be contacted for additional settlement information. You also may visit the Court-approved website, once it is available. Please understand that you have the right to file on your own. The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation.