Noteworthy Recovery for Electronic Distributor in DRAM Antitrust Litigation

Prosecuted the claims of an electronic distributor against the major world-wide manufacturers of dynamic random access memory ("DRAM") computer chips for violation of the federal antitrust laws. Bilzin Sumberg brought suit to recover damages the client incurred as a result of the DRAM manufacturers' participation in a price-fixing conspiracy. The action, which was pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleged violations of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. Our team alleged that during the period of the price-fixing conspiracy, DRAM suppliers conspired to control production capacity, raise prices or slow their decline, allocate customers, and otherwise unlawfully overcharge their DRAM customers, which caused the electronics distributor damages in excess of $100 million. Our team negotiated settlements with all of the defendants named in the Complaint, and allowed our client to achieve one of the highest percentage recoveries of all the class and opt-out plaintiffs in the MDL. The recovery that Bilzin Sumberg was able to recover for its client is particularly noteworthy given that it did not pursue claims against its primary supplier of DRAM - which accounted for over 95% of its DRAM purchases.