A federal jury in San Francisco found July 3 that Toshiba knowingly participated in a conspiracy to fix the price of liquid crystal displays sold in the United States, contributing to $87 million worth of damages suffered by manufacturers and consumers.

A jury in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco) has issued a verdict against Toshiba in the amount of US$87 million due to alleged antitrust practices in the LCD business. However, given credits for settlements by other defendants, including Sharp, Samsung and LG already cover the damages suffered, Toshiba expects that it will not have to pay any damages.

This class action was filed in 2007 by direct purchasers of LCD panels and related products in the United States.

Toshiba claims that there was no illegal activity on its part in the LCD business in the United States, and Toshiba continues to hold that view. The company believes that the jury's verdict is in error as to the finding of wrongdoing on Toshiba's part. The Japanese company plans to pursue all available legal avenues to correct that finding. In addition, Toshiba said it has no plans to revise projections for fiscal 2012 business performance due to this matter.

In December, the court approved a $388 million settlement payment by defendants including Sharp, Samsung Electronics , and LG Display involving claims by direct purchasers. It earlier approved $17 million in settlements for direct purchasers.

In January, the court gave preliminary approval to settlements totaling more than $538 million in a separate antitrust case involving indirect purchasers.