Paul Hastings Secures Antitrust Victory on Behalf of LG Display

August 06, 2012

San Francisco, CA - Paul Hastings, a leading global law firm, announced today that the firm won dismissal of all claims in an antitrust action brought in Washington state court against the firms client, LG Display, the world's largest LCD panel maker. The state attorney general alleged that LG Display and several other manufacturers had conspired to fix the price of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, causing the State and consumers to pay supracompetitive prices for LCD products.

The attorney general had argued that by selling its panels outside Washington, LG Display knew that some of those panels would eventually end up in Washington through the stream of commerce and therefore personal jurisdiction was proper. But because LG Display never did business in Washington and never sold LCD panels directly to Washington consumers, Paul Hastings argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the attorney generals claims, as the attorney generals stream of commerce theory was not enough. The court agreed with Paul Hastings, holding that the law requires more than mere participation in the stream of commerce for a state to exercise jurisdiction over a defendant. As a result, LG Display was dropped from the case, while other manufacturers continue to face the attorney generals claims.

The Paul Hastings Litigation team on this case included San Francisco Antitrust and Competition partner Holly House, Washington, D.C. of counsel Lee Berger and San Francisco associate Danielle Doremus.

Paul Hastings LLP is a leading global law firm with offices in Asia, Europe, and the United States. We provide innovative legal solutions to financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies. Please visit www.paulhastings.com for more information.