Dell sues LCD makers for alleged price fixing

Dell is complaining about "artificially inflated prices"

PC maker Dell has filed a lawsuit against five manufacturers for alleged price fixing of LCD displays, according to a Reuters report.

The lawsuit, which names Sharp, Hitachi, Toshiba, Seiko Epson and Hannstar, was filed in San Francisco at the end of last week, and as yet Dell has not decided on the amount of damages it is seeking.

According to the Wall Street Journal, which has seen a copy of the 61-page complaint, Dell said it was taking the action "on behalf of itself and its affiliates to recover for antitrust and other harms arising from billions of dollars of purchases at artificially inflated prices, over several years, of thin film transistor-liquid crystal display panels, or products containing TFT-LCD panels".

In December 2009, Toshiba was taken to task by Nokia over alleged price fixing, while Hitachi and Sharp have also faced this sort of legal challenge before, and lost.

In March 2009, Hitachi admitted to LCD price fixing charges and paid out £22m in fines. In a separate case, Sharp paid out $120m (£87m).

None of the firms named in this latest complaint has responded to Dell’s allegations.

V3.co.uk approached Dell for a comment, but have so far not had a response.