Co-Lead Counsel for Consumers Alleging Price Fixing Conspiracy Among Leading Manufacturers of Hard Disk Drive Suspension Assemblies

In re Hard Disk Drive Suspension Assemblies, 19-md-02918 (N.D. Cal.)

Robins Kaplan serves as court-appointed co-lead counsel on behalf of a proposed class of end-user consumers in an ongoing antitrust class action alleging that the leading manufacturers of hard disk drive suspension assemblies engaged in a nearly 15-yearlong conspiracy to fix prices and allocate market shares in violation of the Sherman Act.

In 2019, Robins Kaplan filed suit on behalf of end-user consumers who indirectly purchased hard disk drive suspension units, seeking damages under federal and state antitrust, consumer protection, and unjust enrichment laws. The firm filed the first private civil antitrust action following the U.S. Department of Justice’s one-count criminal charge against manufacturer NHK Spring Co., Ltd. for conspiring to fix prices and allocate prices for suspension assemblies used in hard disk drives. In July of 2019, NHK pled guilty to the DOJ’s charge and agreed to pay a $28.5 million criminal fine for its role in the global conspiracy. 

In September of 2021, the Court upheld the majority of the end-user plaintiffs’ claims, allowing 29 of 33 putative state classes to move forward. Litigation remains ongoing.