On May 8, 2018, Judge Gonzalez Rogers approved the $139.3 million settlement that Berman Tabacco reached to resolve the In re Lithium Ion Batteries case on behalf of a proposed class of direct purchasers of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. Berman Tabacco served as co-lead counsel of this lawsuit, which alleges that defendants—including LG, Panasonic, Sony, Hitachi and Samsung—participated in a conspiracy to fix the prices of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. That conspiracy is claimed to have affected the prices paid for the batteries and certain products in which the batteries are used, such as notebook computers, cell phones, and digital cameras. The $139.3 million settlement is an excellent result for the class as it represents 39% of the direct purchaser plaintiffs’ damages.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers commended the attorneys for their professionalism and settlement result. The response from the class to the settlement has been positive: only one substantive objection was filed (and it has since been withdrawn), and, as of May 7, 2018, there is a 70 percent response rate for claims.
This case is In re Lithium Ion Batteries Antitrust Litigation, No. 13-md-2420-YGR (N.D. Cal.). San Francisco partners Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr. and Todd A. Seaver oversee this action for the firm.