U.S. court rejects Motorola Mobility price-fixing appeal (updated)
26/11/2014 18:18
(Adds details from decision, comments, case citation, byline)
By Jonathan Stempel
Nov 26 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday
rejected Motorola Mobility LLC's attempt to hold several Asian
suppliers liable under U.S. antitrust law for fixing prices of
mobile phone displays sold to its foreign units.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago said
Motorola Mobility, a unit of Lenovo Group Ltd 0992.HK , could
not invoke U.S. antitrust law because its foreign subsidiaries
had been the "immediate victims" of a conspiracy to boost prices
on liquid crystal display screens.
"Motorola's foreign subsidiaries were injured in foreign
commerce - in dealings with other foreign companies," Circuit
Judge Richard Posner wrote for a three-judge panel. "To give
Motorola rights to take the place of its foreign companies and
sue on their behalf under U.S. antitrust law would be an
unjustified interference with the right of foreign nations to
regulate their own economies."
The defendants include AU Optronics Corp 2409.TW , Chunghwa
Picture Tubes Ltd 2475.TW , HannStar Display Corp 6116.TW , LG
Display Co 034220.KS , Samsung Electronics Co 005930.KS ,
Samsung SDI Co 006400.KS , Panasonic Corp's 6752.T Sanyo
unit, Sharp Corp 6753.T and Toshiba Corp 6502.T .
Motorola Mobility's case, which began in 2009, drew added
attention because of concern that the company was trying to
obtain U.S. antitrust protections while shifting its tax burdens
to other countries, an accusation it has denied.
"The court's opinion basically says that Motorola can't have
it both ways," said Robert Wick, a partner at Covington &
Burling who represents Samsung Electronics and argued the
defendants' case before the 7th Circuit. "Motorola can't be a
foreign company for purposes of manufacturing phones, but a U.S.
company when it comes to asserting antitrust claims."
Motorola Mobility spokesman Will Moss said: "We disagree
with the decision, and are considering our options."
Lenovo bought Motorola Mobility for $2.91 billion in October
from Google Inc GOOGL.O , which had purchased the company two
years earlier.
Motorola Mobility said it paid the LCD makers more than $5
billion during a price-fixing conspiracy that ran from 1996 to
2006.
The 7th Circuit had ruled against Motorola Mobility in March
but agreed to a rehearing after the Obama administration said
the ruling threatened its ability to police global price-fixing.
The case is Motorola Mobility LLC v. AU Optronics Corp, et
al, 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 14-8003.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional
reporting by Dan Levine in San Francisco and Lawrence Hurley in
Washington, D.C.; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Lisa Von Ahn)
((jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com;)(646 223-6317; Reuters
Messaging: jon.stempel.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: LENOVO MOTOROLAMOBILITY/PRICEFIXING LAWSUIT (UPDAT