Affiliates of American Gypsum Co., National Gypsum Co. and PABCO Building Products LLC agreed to pay a class of direct purchasers $125 million to settle price-fixing claims in multidistrict litigation being overseen by a Pennsylvania federal court, class counsel said Tuesday. Earlier, three other manufacturers had settled for $65.7 million, bringing the total settlement amount for the class up to $190.7 million.
The final four manufacturers named as defendants in an antitrust class action involving lithium ion batteries have agreed to settle the remaining claims. The batteries are widely used in laptop computers and other electronic devices. Panasonic, Toshiba, Hitachi, and NEC have agreed to pay $50 million to settle litigation by direct purchasers of lithium ion batteries. The lawsuits alleged that the companies colluded with other electronics manufacturers to fix battery prices for more than a decade.
