Robins Kaplan Co-Lead Counsel, HDD Suspensions Assemblies Antitrust Litigation

Robins Kaplan LLP has been named co-lead counsel for a nationwide putative class of end-user plaintiffs in In re HDD Drives Suspension Assemblies Antitrust Litigation, a class action that alleges that the 2 largest manufacturers of HDD drive suspension assemblies illegally conspired to fix prices.

The putative class Robins Kaplan represents consists of consumers who, between May 2008 and April 2016, indirectly purchased a product, not for resale, which included a HDD drive suspension assembly manufactured by one of the defendants.

HDD suspension units are a key component of the HDDs found in a range of consumer products, including computers and gaming systems.

The market is dominated by two Japanese companies, TDK and NHK. Together, these companies and their subsidiaries control approximately 90% of the market.

Plaintiffs allege that these defendants and their co-conspirators colluded to fix prices of HDD suspension assemblies in USA, resulting in higher prices for retailers and consumers. These claims were at the center of a criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice, which resulted in a guilty plea and a $28.5 million fine for NHK.

Similar investigations have also been announced in Japan and Brazil.

“We look forward to pursuing relief on behalf of the consumers who we allege were forced to pay higher prices as a result of the defendants’ alleged conspiracy,” said Aaron Sheanin, principal in Robins Kaplan’s Antitrust and Trade Regulation Group.

Robins Kaplan’s clients in this matter are represented by Hollis Salzman, co-chair of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Group, and attorneys Kellie Lerner and Aaron M. Sheanin.