CRT Canada Class Action Settlement Cheques Mailed

If you purchased a cathode ray tube (CRT), CRT television or CRT computer monitor in Canada between March 1995 and November 2007, you may soon be receiving settlement money from the CRT Canada class action lawsuit settlement.

As of Aug. 21, 2020, the Claims Administrator began sending the $20 minimum settlement payments to eligible Class Members. These $20 class action rebates will be sent by e-transfer or cheque depending on the information indicated in the claim form.

Class Members who are entitled to more than $20 will not be issued class action settlement payments until outstanding Class Member appeals are resolved in Ontario Court. The hearing to address Class Member appeals is scheduled for Sept. 23, 2020. A second distribution to remaining approved Class Members will occur after the Ontario Court has made a determination on the outstanding class member appeals, according to the class action lawsuit Canada.

Canada CRT Price Fixing Scheme Cost Companies $49.8 million

Law firms Siskinds LLP, Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman, and Siskinds Desmeules (Quebec) launched pan-Canadian class action lawsuits in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec over a decade ago, alleging that TV manufacturers conspired to fix the prices of CRT technology.

A CRT is a display device commonly used in televisions and computer monitors. If you haven’t heard of CRTs or don’t see the technology around anymore, it’s because CRT technology has now largely been replaced by flat-panel technology, including LCDs and plasmas.

The CRT Class action scam lawsuit alleges that the defendant companies violated the Competition Act by forming secret “price fixing agreements” on CRTs. The Quebec CRT class action lawsuit proposal underscores that the goal of the CRT price-fixing scheme was to limit or eliminate any competition, thus preventing Canadian consumers from finding cheaper CRT products.

Among the big-name electronic companies cited as defendants in the Canadian CRT class action scam include, Chunghwa, Hitachi, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, and Toshiba.

The CRT Canada class action lawsuit settlements have been approved by Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec courts, totalling $49.8 million.

Class Members included in the CRT Canada class action rebates are Canadian residents (individuals, businesses and governmental entities), who purchased any of the following products, regardless of the manufacturer or brand, in Canada between March 1, 1995 and November 25, 2007:

• CRT televisions
• CRT computer monitors
• CRTs for inclusion in televisions or computer monitors

The seven defendants, none of which have admitted to any wrongdoing or liability, have agreed to pay $49.8 million in settlements as follows:

• Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. and Chunghwa Picture Tubes (Malaysia) SDN. BDH (CDN$2,000,000)
• Panasonic Corporation (formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.), Panasonic Corporation of North America, Panasonic Canada Inc., and MT Picture Display Co., Ltd. (CDN$4,150,000)
• Toshiba Corporation, Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc., Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., Toshiba of Canada Limited (USD$2,950,000; CDN$3,794,290
• Japan Display Inc., f/k/a Hitachi Displays Ltd., Hitachi Ltd., Hitachi Asia, Ltd., Hitachi America, Ltd., Hitachi Electric Devices (USA), Inc., and Hitachi Canada, Ltd. (USD$2,050,000; CDN$2,804,400
• LG Electronics, Inc. (CDN$7,750,000)
• Philips North America LLC (CDN$12,396,500)
• Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (f/k/a Samsung Display Device Co.), Samsung SDI America, Inc., Samsung SDI Mexico S.A. de C.V., Tianjin Samsung SDI Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Samsung SDI Co. Ltd and Samsung SDI Brasil Ltda (CDN$16,980,000)

The filing deadline passed on March 1, 2019.

A similar CRT class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S., concluding in a $542 million U.S. settlement.

Price-Fixing Class Action Lawsuits Canada Pile Up

The Ontario Superior Court recently certified a price-fixing class action lawsuit targeting dozens of Canadian banks.

The price-fixing conspiracy class action lawsuit alleges that dozens of banks and financial institutions took part in a conspiracy to control the foreign currency market, known as the “FX Market.” According to one of the law firms representing the plaintiffs, the goal of the conspiracy is to “fix, maintain, control, prevent, lessen, eliminate, or unduly lessen the supply of foreign currencies on the FX Market.”

In another recent class action lawsuit Canada, Amazon, the biggest online retailer in Canada, is also accused of conspiring with third-party sellers to fix retail e-commerce prices.

Lead plaintiff, Audrey Wells, claims that Canadian consumers have paid $12 billion due to anticompetitive agreements Amazon made with third parties to force consumers to pay a higher price for products sold on their online platform.

Canadian price-fixing class action lawsuits have also alleged COVID-19 price-gouging schemes. The first COVID-19 price-gouging lawsuit filed in Canada accuses Waterloo-based Caonic Systems Inc. of reselling N95 face masks at a price that is over five times higher than the regular listed price.

Have you received your CRT settlement cheque? Do you think the settlement agreement is fair? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Class Members are represented by Siskinds LLP, Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman, and Siskinds Desmeules.

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