Canadian Optical Disc Drive Class Action Lawsuit Gets Certified

The Supreme Court of British Columbia has certified a class action lawsuit involving allegations that certain optical disc drive manufacturers engaged in a price-fixing scheme.

If you are a resident of Canada who purchased an optical disc drive or a product such as a computer, laptop, video game console, CD player, DVD player and/or Blu-Ray disc player that contains an optical disc drive, you may be eligible for compensation in the future.

The companies named in the optical disc drive class action lawsuit include BenQ, HLDS, NEC, Panasonic, Pioneer, PLDS, Quanta, Sony and TEAC.

An optical disc drive (ODD) is a memory storage device that reads data from or writes data to an optical disc, including CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs. Products that contain ODDs include computers, video game consoles, and ODDs designed to be attached externally to computers or other devices.

Plaintiff Neil Godfrey initially filed the optical disc drive class action lawsuit in 2010. The optical disc drive class action lawsuit accuses the defendants of engaging in a conspiracy to artificially inflate the prices of optical disc drives.

HLDS, NEC, PLDS, Sony and TEAC have reportedly reached settlements totaling more than $19.4 million in the optical disc drive class action lawsuit. These settlements have already been approved by courts in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec.

The funds from these settlements are being held in a trust account until the court determines how the funds will be distributed and the process by which claims can be submitted by Class Members. Litigation continues against the other defendants.

Class Members of the optical disc drive lawsuit include Canadian residents who purchased optical disc drives or products that contain optical disc drives between Jan. 1, 2004 and Jan. 1, 2010. Class Members are divided into two categories: Non-Umbrella Purchasers and Umbrella Purchasers.

Non-Umbrella Purchaser Class Members include individuals who purchased optical disc drives that the defendants either manufactured or supplied, or products that contain ODD in which the ODD was manufactured or supplied by the defendants.

Umbrella Purchaser Class Members include individuals who purchased optical disc drives that were not supplied or manufactured by the defendants, or products that contain ODD in which the ODD was not manufactured or supplied by the defendants.

If you purchased optical disc drives or products like computers, laptops, video game consoles, or CD, DVD or Blu-Ray players that contain optical disc drives between Jan. 1, 2004 and Jan. 1, 2010, you should keep any records you have that document the purchase. You may be asked to submit proof of purchase to make a claim.

More information about the Canada optical disc drive class action lawsuit is available at https://www.cfmlawyers.ca/active-litigation/optical-disc-drive-price-fixing/ and https://www.siskinds.com/class-action/optical-disc-drives-odd/.

An antitrust investigation into the ODD industry by the U.S. Department of Justice led to guilty pleas from several defendants who were subjected to fines and prison time for their role in the price-fixing conspiracy. In 2015, the European Commission fined eight ODD suppliers over their role in the scheme.

Did you buy an optical disc drive made or distributed by any of the companies listed? Do you believe you paid an inflated price for it? Tell us in the comments below.

The plaintiffs are represented by Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman LLP, Siskinds LLP and Consumer Law Group Inc.

The Canadian Optical Disc Drive Class Action Lawsuit is Godfrey v. Sony Corporation, et al., Case No. S106462, in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada.

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