If You Bought Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) Between November 1, 1996 to December
31, 2006, Class Action Lawsuits and Settlements May Affect You.
SRAM is used in many computers, smart phones, PDAs and other electronic devices
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On August 16, 2012, Plaintiffs filed a motion for an order authorizing distribution
of the Net Settlement Fund. On August 30, 2012, the Court granted Plaintiffs' motion.
Go to the Case Documents section of this website to view the papers filed in support
of this motion and the Court's order.
Please be advised that the period for Reseller claims is closed. No further claims
will be accepted.
Please be advised that on October 14, 2011, the Court entered the Order Granting
Final Approval of Samsung and Cypress Settlements and Plan of Distribution, the
Order Granting Award of Attorney’s Fees, Reimbursement of Expenses and for Class
Representative Payments, and the Final Judgments of Dismissal with Prejudice as
to Cypress Semiconductor Corporation and as to the Samsung Defendants.
Copies of these documents are available by clicking on Case Documents above.
A federal court has certified a nationwide settlement class of individuals and companies
that purchased SRAM in the United States indirectly from one or more Defendants
(the “Settlement Class”). The case is In Re Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) Antitrust
Litigation, M:07-CV-01819-CW, MDL No.1819, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of California. If you are a Settlement Class member, your rights will be
affected by a proposed settlement with Defendants Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.,
Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. (collectively
“Samsung”) and a proposed settlement with Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (“Cypress”)
(the “Settlements”).
What is the Class Action About?
Plaintiffs claim that the Defendants conspired to fix, raise, maintain or stabilize
prices of SRAM in violation of antitrust, unfair competition and unjust enrichment
laws, resulting in overcharges to customers who indirectly purchased SRAM. Defendants
deny that they did anything wrong. The District Court has not decided who is right.
Samsung and Cypress (the "Settling Defendants"), have agreed to settle with Plaintiffs;
they continue to deny liability, but settled to avoid litigation expense and risk.
Who’s Included?
You are a member of the Settlement Class if you indirectly purchased SRAM in the
United States from one or more of the Defendants during the period from November
1, 1996 through December 31, 2006 (the “Class Period”). The Settlement Class includes
indirect purchasers of SRAM that purchased and resold Defendants’ SRAM (“Resellers”),
as well as indirect purchasers of Defendants’ SRAM that purchased it for their own
use and not for resale (“End Users”).
SRAM means all types of Static Random Access Memory parts and modules as well as
pseudostatic random access memory (“PSRAM”). SRAM is used in a variety of product
markets, including: (1) the communications market in cell phones and Voice Over
Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology; (2) the computer market in servers, mainframes,
high-end computer workstations, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) and smart
phones; and (3) the networking communications market in routers, switches, proxy
and gateway devices, modems, storage area networks and firewalls.
Who are the Defendants?
Cypress Semiconductor Corporation; Etron Technology, Inc.; Etron Technology America,
Inc.; Hynix Semiconductor Inc.; Hynix Semiconductor America Inc.; Micron Technology,
Inc.; Micron Semiconductor Products, Inc.; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Mitsubishi
Electric & Electronics USA, Inc.; NEC Electronics Corporation; NEC Electronics America,
Inc.; Renesas Technology Corp.; Renesas Technology America, Inc.; Samsung Electronics
Company, Ltd.; Samsung Electronics America Inc.; Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.; Toshiba
Corporation; Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.
What do the Settlements Provide?
The Settling Defendants have agreed to pay a total of $15,900,000. Copies of the
Settlement Agreements are available on the Case Documents section of this web site.
In 2010, the Court approved settlements with other defendants that total $25,422,000
(the "2010" Settlements"); those settlements are now final and binding on the Settlement
Class.
How will the Money Be Distributed?
The total Settlement Fund from all settlements is $41,322,000. The Net Settlement
Fund (i.e., the Settlement Fund minus court-approved costs, attorneys’ fees and
incentive awards), will be distributed as follows: (1) 36.7% of the Net Settlement
Fund will distributed to qualified Resellers through a court-approved claims process;
and (2) 63.3% of the Net Settlement Fund will be distributed via a Court-approved
cy pres plan to non-profit charities for the benefit of End Users.
Go to the Case Documents section of this website to see the distribution plan details
or the proposed list of non-profit charities. Class Counsel will request attorneys'
fees in the amount of one-third of the Settlement Fund, reimbursement of their costs
and expenses, and incentive payments for the court-appointed class representatives.
The attorneys' fees application shall be posted on the Case Documents section of
this website by August 1, 2011.
What Are Your Options?
If you are a Settlement Class member, you may: (1) do nothing and remain in the
Settlement Class; (2) submit a claim, but only if you are a Reseller member of the
Settlement Class; (3) file a notice to be heard at the Fairness Hearing; or (4)
exclude yourself from the Settlement Class.
Do Nothing
- If you are a Settlement Class member, you may choose to do nothing at this time.
If you are a Reseller member of the Settlement Class and do nothing, you will not
receive any payments. If you are an End User member of the Settlement Class and
do nothing, net Settlement Fund proceeds will still be distributed to court-approved
non-profit charities.
- By doing nothing, you will be bound by the District Court’s rulings with respect
to the proposed Settlements and dismissals against the Settling Defendants.
Submit a Claim if You are A Reseller
- If you are a Reseller member of the Settlement Class, you may submit a claim for
payment. You must submit a claim postmarked by no later than October 24, 2011. You
may obtain a Claim Form by clicking here.
- Submitting a claim does not guarantee that you will receive a payment. Your claim
will be reviewed by the Settlement Administrator and only qualified Reseller claimants
will receive payments.
File Notice to be Heard at the Fairness Hearing
- If you are a Settlement Class member and you want to be heard regarding any of the
matters before the District Court at the Fairness Hearing, including objecting to
the Settlement, you must file notice with the District Court Clerk no later than
August 25, 2011.
- If you do not file notice as described above, you waive your right to object to
the Settlements.
- The Court has scheduled the Fairness Hearing for October 6, 2011 and will consider
whether to approve the proposed settlements, distribution plan and requests for
attorneys' fees, costs and incentive payments. This date may change without further
notice. Any new hearing date or time will be posted below.
Request to be Excluded from the Settlement Class
- Each class member shall have the right to be excluded from the Settlement Class
by mailing a request for exclusion to SRAM Indirect Purchaser Exclusions, P.O. Box
8090, San Rafael, CA 94912-8090, postmarked no later than August 25, 2011. You may
not exclude yourself from the 2010 Settlements.
- Requests for exclusion must: (1) be in writing; (2) set forth the name and address
of the person or entity who wishes to be excluded, as well as all trade names or
business names and addresses used by such person or entity, if applicable; and (3)
must be signed by the class member seeking exclusion.
- If you request to be excluded from the Settlement Class, you will not be eligible
to share in any of the Settlement Fund obtained by the Settlement Class in this
action and will not be eligible to be heard at the Fairness Hearing.
Who Represents You?
The Court has appointed Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason LLP as Class Counsel. You
do not have to pay these lawyers to represent you. You may hire your own attorney,
if you wish; however, you will be responsible for your own attorney’s fees and expenses.
For more information, click here
or write to:
SRAM Indirect Purchaser Litigation
P.O. Box 8090
San Rafael, CA 94912-8090
Key Dates:
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Exclusion Deadline:
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August 25, 2011
|
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Objection Deadline:
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August 25, 2011
|
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Fairness Hearing:
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October 6, 2011
at 2:00 p.m.
|
Claims Filing Deadline
(only for Resellers):
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October 24, 2011
|
Further Information Toll-Free Number:
866-252-7551