The raid of electronic capacitor companies in Japan this week is a further indication that antitrust enforcers may be pursuing a worldwide cartel involving the small, but ubiquitous product, antitrust attorneys said.
“This has the hallmarks of a major international cartel investigation,” said Philip Giordano, an attorney with Kaye Scholer and a 15-year veteran of the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) Antitrust Division. “The DoJ and its foreign counterparts are conducting parallel investigations. Many of the manufacturers under investigation are international conglomerates that sell into global markets.”
Giordano said the foreign raids suggest that the cartel activity was recent. He predicted that the probe may result in indictments against individuals and companies and large fines. He said, however, any fines might be tempered by the small cost of individual capacitors. And he questioned whether this probe could expand to include other passive electronic components.
Following a pattern evident in the worldwide probe of price-fixing among Japanese auto parts manufacturers, private attorneys in the US are now seeking clients to represent in civil suits against the manufacturers.
“We’veVolumetric Efficiency been investigating it for several months,” said Joseph Saveri of the Joseph Saveri Law Firm. “It’s potentially a very large case.”
Saveri is not alone in seeking clients to represent in a capacitor lawsuit. The American Injury Attorney Group lists myriad capacitor manufacturers and wants their customers to contact the firm.
In the worldwide probe of price-fixing among Japanese auto parts companies, many direct and indirect purchasers have pursued civil suits seeking damages.
