Background: Plaintiffs allege that defendants and their co-conspirators engaged in an unlawful conspiracy to fix the prices of lithium ion battery cells, affecting the prices indirect purchasers paid for lithium ion batteries and lithium ion products. Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs have settled their claims for $19.5 million from Sony Corp., $39 million from LG Chem Ltd., $3.45 million from Hitachi Maxwell Ltd., and $2.5 million from NEX Corp.

BFA’s Role: BFA represents the cities of Palo Alto and Richmond, California.

Result: On October 27, 2017, the Court gave final approval to the settlement between the IPPs and Hitachi Maxell, NEC Corporation, and LG Chem. The settlement is worth $45 million, bringing the total settlements with IPPs to $64.5 million.