Optical Disk Drive Indirect Purchaser Class Action Settlement [Deadline Oct. 30, 2017]
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A group of electronics companies have agreed to pay a total of $180 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accused them of engaging in a conspiracy to fix the prices of optical disk drives. These settlements affect indirect purchasers of optical disk drives.
Optical disk drives are devices that allow data to be read from and/or written to optical disks, such as DVDs, CDs and other computer software storage. Optical disk drives are included in a variety of consumer electronic devices, including desktop and laptop computers.
This optical disk drive antitrust class action lawsuit includes a number of consolidated cases that were filed against electronic companies after the U.S. Department of Justice announced in 2009 that it was conducting a criminal investigation into the optical disk drive industry. The optical disk drive class action lawsuits were consolidated in 2010.On July 21, 2016, a California federal judge approved $124.5 million worth of settlements in the case with Sony, Hitachi-LG Data Storage, Panasonic Corp., and NEC Corp. In March 2017, PLDS, Pioneer and TEAC agreed to pay an additional $55.5 million to resolve the price-fixing claims against them, bringing the total settlement to $180 million.
Consumers covered by the optical disk drive settlements include consumers in 23 states and the District of Columbia who bought optical disk drives from April 2003 to December 2008.Several named defendants remain in this class action lawsuit including: BenQ Corporation, BenQ America Corp., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Toshiba Corp., Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corp., Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corp. Korea, and Quanta Storage Inc. A trial date of Feb. 12, 2018 has been set for these remaining electronics companies.
Class Members of the indirect purchaser optical disk drive settlement include any one who was a resident of Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, or Wisconsin and who, between April 1, 2003 and Dec. 31, 2008, purchased (for their own use and not for resale) one or more of the following products manufactured by one or more of the defendants or their alleged coconspirators:
• A computer with an internal optical disk drive;
• A stand-alone optical disk drive designed for internal use in computers;
or
• An optical disk drive designed to be attached externally to a computer.
NOTE: Purchases of Panasonic-brand computers are not covered by this class action settlement.
Potential Award - $10 per drive (estimated).
The settlement fund will be distributed among Class Members on a pro rata basis. The actual amount each consumer receives will be based on how many ODDs purchased by the Class Member during the Class period and the total number of claims filed. The Claim Administrator estimates this will amount to $10 per drive, but the actual payout could be more or less depending on these factors.
Class Members must file a Claim Form no later than Oct. 30, 2017 as well as provide the total number of products containing an ODD purchased between Apr. 1, 2003 through Dec. 31, 2008.
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Thanks OP.
I have tons of drives.
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Sadly I’m in one of the excluded states, but hopefully others can benefit!
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Just tried to submit, but submission deadline was October 31st. Claims after that date may not be honored.
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@moonknight said in Optical Disk Drive Indirect Purchaser Class Action Settlement:
Just tried to submit, but submission deadline was October 31st. Claims after that date may not be honored.
Info was in the OP: Class Members must file a Claim Form no later than Oct. 30, 2017 as well as provide the total number of products containing an ODD purchased between Apr. 1, 2003 through Dec. 31, 2008.
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I put the deadline in the title to let folks know they can’t file any new claims.
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UPDATE: On November 27, 2017, an appeal to the Optical Disk Drive Antitrust Class Action Settlement was filed. Claims will not be paid until all appeals are exhausted. We appreciate your ongoing patience. Top Class Actions will continue to provide updates as we learn more.
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Thanks for the update CC!
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Just got an update on this one. Found it in my Spam folder
Basically there is a delay due to objections to attorney’s fees.Important Update
The claims period for the $205 million class action settlement in the Optical Disk Drive Antitrust litigation is now closed. The district court overseeing this litigation has approved all the settlements as fair and reasonable, and has approved the payment of attorneys’ fees.
A small number of class members have objected to the terms of the settlement and the payment of attorneys’ fees to lead counsel, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP. The objectors have appealed the district court’s approval of the settlement to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Under the governing case law, until the objections are resolved, we are unable to distribute the settlement funds to class members.
Hagens Berman believes that these objections are without merit. We are proud of the recovery on behalf of the indirect purchaser class, and believe that private class actions are an important counterbalance to the power of large corporations. This litigation sprawled many years, multiple continents, with millions of documents and dozens of depositions. Without joining together the claims of consumers, and allowing law firms to act on their behalf, there would be no recovery for the average consumer injured by such a coordinated and sophisticated cartel. We at Hagens Berman will continue to act on behalf of the class until the overcharges due to this cartel are returned to consumers.
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Doesn’t objection to attorney’s fees generate even more attorney’s fees?
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Heads up, they listed the payment email address that is incoming. Payments coming from: payments@mail.theoddsettlement.com
Email title: Your Optical Disk Drive Settlement Payment is Coming Soon
Optical Disk Drive Antitrust Settlement info@mail.theoddsettlement.comYour Payment Is Coming Soon
Beginning June 6th, 2022, payments for the final settlement of Optical Disk Drive Settlement, Case No. 3:10-md-2143 RS, will be sent out.You will receive an email payment notice for $x.xx for your claim. We received more claims than anticipated, which lowered the originally expected payout amounts on the fixed settlement fund.
For reference, your payment will come from the email payments@mail.theoddsettlement.com and you will be able to instantly select from one of several digital payment options. No Application download or registration will be required to receive your funds.
For Frequently Asked Questions and self-help related to your final payment, please visit: https://www.dollarsfordiskdrives.com/faqs.
Please do not reply to this email, as it is sent from an unmonitored mailbox. Should you choose to unsubscribe or report this email as spam, you will become ineligible to receive a digital distribution payment.
Claims Administrator | https://www.dollarsfordiskdrives.com
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Payment selection email arrived. The choices are: Amazon, Target, or a prepaid Mastercard.
It takes an additional 24-48 hours to get the payment after selecting…
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@ctujackbauer said in Optical Disk Drive Indirect Purchaser Class Action Settlement [Deadline Oct. 30, 2017]:
Payment selection email arrived. The choices are: Amazon, Target, or a prepaid Mastercard.
It takes an additional 24-48 hours to get the payment after selecting…
I picked Mastercard, and it took 4 days.
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Secondary payment sent out today. Different email sender from the first payment, so it could have been sent to your spam folder.
Email title: Optical Disk Drive Settlement: Your 2nd and Final Digital Payment is Ready
Optical Disk Drive Settlement ODDSettlement@hawkmarketplace.com
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@ctujackbauer said in Optical Disk Drive Indirect Purchaser Class Action Settlement [Deadline Oct. 30, 2017]:
Secondary payment sent out today. Different email sender from the first payment, so it could have been sent to your spam folder.
Email title: Optical Disk Drive Settlement: Your 2nd and Final Digital Payment is Ready
Optical Disk Drive Settlement ODDSettlement@hawkmarketplace.comI got a $7.59 Amazon gift card. Not a bad settlement for a bit of work.
—. Z. —
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@ctujackbauer said in Optical Disk Drive Indirect Purchaser Class Action Settlement [Deadline Oct. 30, 2017]:
Secondary payment sent out today. Different email sender from the first payment, so it could have been sent to your spam folder.
Email title: Optical Disk Drive Settlement: Your 2nd and Final Digital Payment is Ready
Optical Disk Drive Settlement ODDSettlement@hawkmarketplace.comMine was:
ODD Settlement: Your 2nd and Final Digital Payment is Ready
ODD Settlement via Tremendous rewards@reward.tremendous.com
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This FINALLY paid out! Some folks got THOUSANDS!
