Have you bought capacitors?
If so, you have likely suffered damages from the capacitors cartel!
We will help you accelerate the return on your legal assets.
The cartel
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On 13 July 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirmed fines totaling approximately 254 million euros against nine members of the so-called capacitor cartel (Case AT.40136). The European Commission had found that these companies had entered into anticompetitive agreements and coordinated practices regarding the prices of electrolytic capacitors in the European Economic Area between 1998 and 2012.
The cartel members were among the world's leading manufacturers of capacitors:
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Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
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Hitachi Chemical Company, Ltd.
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Rubycon Corporation
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NEC Tokin/ Tokin Corporation
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Nippon Chemi-Con Corporation
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Holy Stone Enterprise Co., Ltd.
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Matsuo Electric Co., Ltd.
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Elna Co., Ltd.
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Nichicon Corporation
The cartel members aimed at increasing prices above competitive levels in order to maximize their own profits. To that effect, the cartel members explicitly agreed on fixing the prices for aluminum electrolytic capacitors ("AEC") and tantalum electrolytic capacitors ("TEC").
It is highly likely that companies, which purchased electrolytic capacitors between 1998 and 2012, have suffered damages by overpaying for electrolytic capacitors. It is likely that lingering effects extend the relevant period to December 2014.
"Capacitors are an essential part of almost all electronic products, ranging from smart phones to appliances in our homes, electronic systems in our cars and wind turbines producing electricity. The nine companies fined today colluded to maximise their profits."
- Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition
Affected capacitors
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The damage
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It is highly likely that the anticompetitive agreements and coordinated practices of leading capacitor manufactures resulted in a cartel-induced price overcharge. Purchasers of electrolytic capacitors suffered significant damages.
Empirical economic research has shown that price-fixing agreements usually lead to a significant overcharge. In the capacitor cartel, initial economic estimates have determined an overcharge of up to 19% of the purchase price[1].
If your company purchased capacitors from the cartelists or third parties since June 1998, you are likely to be entitled to claims for damages against the cartelists. These claims for damages aim at putting your company in the position it would have been in if it had purchased the capacitors under functioning competitive conditions and had not paid inflated prices due to the cartel.
[1] The estimation stems from an expert opinion issued in a civil antitrust damages procedure in the U.S. pertaining to the same anticompetitive conduct of the cartel participants. Source: U.S. District Court of Northern District of California, Case No 14-3264 (Flextronics' action); MDL Dkt. No. 652, p. 2 et seq.
"Any person or company affected by anti-competitive behaviour as described in this case may bring the matter before the courts of the Member States and seek damages. The case law of the Court and Council Regulation 1/2003 both confirm that in cases before national courts, a Commission decision that has become final constitutes binding proof that the behaviour took place and was illegal. Even though the Commission has fined the cartel participants concerned, damages may be awarded without being reduced on account of the Commission fine."
- European Commission
The procedure
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Bundling of damages claims
Out-of-court settlement
Court enforcement
We bundle damages claims from several claimants and offer two different enforcement models:
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Full purchase of your damages claims (immediate payout); or
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Financing of all litigation costs and risks against a success fee (litigation financing).
Bundling damages claims improves the negotiation power and thus the prospects of a success in both, out-of-court and court proceedings.
The bundling of damages claims also yields a more robust cartel damage estimation due to a broader data basis.
In a first step, the lawyers from Lieff Cabraser initiate out-of-court negotiations requiring a thorough factual, legal and economic assessment.
Should the cartel members refuse to pay out a reasonable settlement, the damages claims will be enforced in court.
Bundling damages claims reduces enforcement costs compared to an individual trial. From our experience, bundling often renders an enforcement economically viable in the first place.
The workflow
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Individual assessment
Financing
Economic analysis
Out-of-court settlements
In-court enforcement
After you register, we will inform you about the procedure and discuss open questions. In particular, we will support you in determining the volume of commerce affected by the cartel.
We will provide this initial assessment without any commitment from your side.
Next, we will submit an indicative offer to you.
All costs of data collection, preparation of an economic expert opinion, legal fees and court costs will be covered by the litigation funder. You do not bear any costs or risks.
Competition economists will estimate your damages.
We will prepare the necessary data and extract the relevant information from your invoices and receipts.
Your only need to provide us with the relevant documents.
Our primary goal is to reach a reasonable out-of-court settlement.
Our experience shows that bundling claims can increase the probability of such settlements.
The damages claims will be enforced in court if the cartel members refuse to agree to a reasonable settlement.
The law firm Lieff Cabraser is specialized in enforcing cartel damages claims.
The experts
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The Litigation Financing & Capital GmbH specializes in the identification and enforcement of (cartel) damages claims. Together with the leading law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP and the renowned litigation funder Deminor, we support you in enforcing your damages claims from the capacitors cartel.
Lieff Cabraser is committed to achieving justice for our litigation clients through bundled actions and individual lawsuits.
Lieff Cabraser is one of the leading law firms specializing in claims recovery, with offices in San Francisco, New York, Nashville and Munich. Since 1972, Lieff Cabraser has helped recover over USD 124 billion in verdicts and settlements for our clients worldwide.
Lieff Cabraser's German team has many years of experience in structuring, coordinating and prosecuting cartel damages cases in Germany and Europe and regularly represents injured parties, litigation funders and institutional investors.
Litigation Financing & Capital (LFC), based in Frankfurt am Main, specializes in the enforcement of third-party damages claims.
The expertise of LFC includes the identification and bundling of damages claims, the implementation of lean IT processes as well as the project management across litigation funders, lawyers, economic experts and claimants.
Since 2018, the founding team has been bundling the core competencies required to successfully enforce your claims. The founders are experienced in the management of large scale projects, in the field of litigation financing, and in the economic estimation of damage.
Deminor is a leading privately-owned and international litigation funder defined by the pursuit of good causes and justice for its clients.
Founded in 1990, Deminor has funded cases in 21 jurisdictions including Europe, the Americas and the Middle East and has achieved positive recoveries for clients in more than 80% of the cases it has funded, against an industry average of 70%.
The Deminor team combines skill sets from 19 different nationalities and 22 languages and has offices in Brussels, London, Hamburg, New York, Hong Kong, Madrid, Milan, Stockholm and Luxembourg.
Litigation Financing & Capital GmbH
Weserstraße 4
D-60329 Frankfurt am Main
Phone: +49 69 348 687 750
Email: info@litigationfinancing.de