WA State folks: LCD Settlement checks going out, watch your mailbox.

OLYMPIA — Beginning next week, checks will be in the mail for consumers affected by an elaborate price-fixing conspiracy by LCD manufacturers, Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today. A total of $41.1 million is on its way to 24,632 consumers and businesses in all 39 counties.

The recovery is among the largest in the AGO Antitrust Division's history.

"This conspiracy affected millions of products Washingtonians purchased over a period of eight years," Ferguson said. "This step brings closure and a measure of justice to consumers who were harmed by this scheme. When powerful interests don't play by the rules, my office will be there to hold them accountable."

Rather than participate in a multistate case, the Attorney General's Office chose to pursue an individual case in order to get a better deal for Washington consumers. The recovery in the state's individual lawsuit may be as much as 30 percent higher than what Washington might have received as part of the multistate settlement.

On average, each consumer will receive about $203. The total varies based on the number and type of items claimed.

Claimants will receive:

$72.19 per LCD television, up to 10,000 units
$23.95 per flat-screen monitor, up to 10,000 units
$48.03 per notebook computer, up to 10,000 units
$6 per color-screen iPod
$6 per color-screen cell phone
A breakdown of the number of claims by county is available here.

In total, checks for more than 1 million items will be mailed: 232,224 televisions, 510,134 monitors, 242,395 notebook computers, 17,343 iPods and 68,227 cell phones.

Consumers who filed a valid claim can expect a check sometime in the next few weeks. Those who filed a deficient claim that did not qualify for payment have already been notified.