If YouWere an Illinois Resident Who Bought a TV or Monitor Containing a Cathode Ray Tube ( CRT) between March 1, 1995, and November 25, 2007
A Lawsuit And Settlements May Affect You.
What is the lawsuit about? There is a lawsuit involving cathode ray tubes (“CRTs”). A CRT is a display technology used in televisions in computers before LCD, Plasma and LED display technologies became popular. The lawsuit was brought by the Illinois Attorney General (“Plaintiff”). The lawsuit claims that Defendants conspired to fix, raise, maintain or stabilize prices of CRTs, which resulted in overcharges to consumers who bought products containing the CRTs. The Plaintiff is asking for money damages. The Defendants deny Plaintiff’s allegations or that consumers suffered any overcharge. The Court has not decided who is right. Settlements have been reached with four Defendants ( Hitachi Ltd., LG Electronics, Inc., Koninklijke Philips Electronics N. V., Samsung Display Device Co., and certain affiliates). Two Defendants ( Toshiba Corp. and Panasonic Corp., and certain affiliates) have not agreed to settle so the lawsuit continues against them. Any future settlements will be posted at www. illinoiscrtsettlement.com. Who is included in the lawsuit? The lawsuit involves CRTs purchased indirectly from the Defendants. “Indirectly” means that you purchased products containing the CRT from someone other than the company that manufactured the component CRT. The case is proceeding to recover money damages that the State alleges were incurred by any Illinois resident ( person or business) that purchased a CRT television or monitor between March 1, 1995 and November 25, 2007, while residing in Illinois and for their own use in Illinois and not for resale. If you are a governmental entity, you may not participate in this settlement. The State has not brought this lawsuit on behalf of any political subdivision. Therefore, you may not file a claim and recover damages if you are an Illinois county, municipality, township or other political subdivision. Plaintiff has also settled potential claims on behalf of the State of Illinois and its agencies. However, this notice does not relate to those settlements and Illinois state agencies are not eligible to participate in this claims process. What do the settlements provide? There are four settlements, totaling approximately $ 36 million. More details are in Settlement Agreements and other documents available at www. illinoiscrtsettlement.com. The cost to administer the Settlements and the Illinois Attorney General’s fees and costs will come out of the Settlement Fund. Plaintiff will request attorney’s fees and costs amounting to 10% of the Settlement Fund. The maximum amount you could potentially recover is $ 20 for a CRT television and $ 60 for a CRT monitor. If there is not enough money recovered to pay the maximum amount, your recovery will depend on the number of claims per device submitted by July 12, 2018 and the total recovery. We expect that such a pro rata distribution will allow for at least $ 20 per claim and will increase if there are additional settlements or the State prevails at trial against the remaining Defendants.
How can I get a payment? You must submit a Claim Form to get a payment. You can submit a Claim Form online or by mail. The deadline to submit a Claim Form is July 12, 2018. Any claims filed after July 12, 2018 will be considered for payment only if settlement funds remain after all valid claims filed by that date
have been paid in full. Claim forms are available at the website or by calling 1- 866- 652- 8226. No money will be distributed yet. Plaintiff will pursue the lawsuits against the Non- Settling Defendants. All funds received in this case will be distributed together at the conclusion of the lawsuit or as ordered by the Court. Claims filed by someone else on behalf of or as assignee of the person or entity who actually purchased the CRT television or monitor will not be accepted or paid. For individuals, the name of the person verifying the claim must match that of the person making the claim. For businesses, the individual verifying the claim must be a duly authorized officer of the business. Verification provided by anyone else will be invalid. What are my rights? If you do nothing, your rights will be affected. If you do not want to be legally bound by the lawsuit, you must exclude yourself from the lawsuit. If you exclude yourself, you will not get any benefit as a result of the settlements, trial, or judgment in this case. If you do not exclude yourself you will not be able to sue the Defendants for any claim relating to the lawsuit. The deadline to exclude yourself is March 12, 2018. Any request for exclusion or objection must be mailed to: Illinois CRT Indirect Exclusions, PO Box 404041, Louisville, KY 40233- 4041. For More Information: 1- 866- 652- 8226 or www. illinoiscrtsettlement.com