Agenda

Return

C. 23

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	David Twa, County Administrator
Date:	May 24, 2016

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Authorize settlement of State of California, et al. v. Samsung SDI, Co., Ltd., et al. (S.F. Superior Court Case No. CGC-11-515784)

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 05/24/2016

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

David Gould (925) xxx-xxxx

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: May 24, 2016
,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Purchasing Agent to accept, on behalf of the County, a settlement reached by the California Attorney General in the class action lawsuit, State of California, et al. v. Samsung SDI, Co., Ltd., et al. (S.F. Superior Court Case No. CGC-11-515784).

FISCAL IMPACT:

The County will receive a $10,000 payment, which will be deposited into the General Fund. The County also will be eligible to apply for technology grants paid from settlement funds.

BACKGROUND:

State of California, et al. v. Samsung SDI, Co., Ltd., et al. (S.F. Superior Court Case No. CGC-11-515784) is a class action lawsuit filed by the State of California against several makers of cathode ray tubes. The lawsuit arises out of an alleged price-fixing scheme that inflated the prices of devices containing cathode ray tubes between March 1, 1995, and November 25, 2007. The California Attorney General, as parens patriae (i.e., under the State’s authority to act on behalf of others), filed the lawsuit on behalf of the State of California and several named public agency plaintiffs, including Contra Costa County.

A previous partial settlement of the lawsuit was approved by the Board of Supervisors on June 17, 2014. The County received a notice that the California Attorney General has agreed to settle with remaining defendants Hitachi, LG,

Panasonic, Samsung, and Toshiba, and related and affiliated entities. This settlement will require these remaining defendants to pay a total of $4.95 million into a settlement fund. If the County participates and the Court approves the settlement, the County, as a named plaintiff, will receive a direct payment of $10,000. An additional $1,895,946 will be allocated for technology grants to members of the plaintiff class. The County will be eligible to apply for grants if it participates in the settlement. The remaining settlement funds will be paid to the State of California and the City and County of San Francisco for administrative costs, attorney’s fees, and litigation costs.

The Court has granted preliminary approval of the settlement. If the County opts out of the settlement, it will not be eligible for a direct payment, nor can it apply for grants from settlement funds. Participating in the settlement will terminate the lawsuit against the named defendants that was brought on the County’s behalf, and will prevent the County from independently litigating against the named defendants over claims that were raised or could have been raised in the lawsuit.

For these reasons, the Purchasing Agent recommends that the Board of Supervisors authorize the County’s participation in this settlement.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

The County would not receive a $10,000 settlement payment and would not be eligible to apply for technology grants paid with settlement funds.