Discovery Starts in Lithium Ion Battery Litigation

Discovery has begun in an action by direct and indirect purchasers of lithium ion batteries alleging a widespread conspiracy among manufacturers to fix, raise, maintain, and possibly stabilize battery prices, according to an April 19 order by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (In re Lithium Ion Batteries Antitrust Litigation, N.D. Cal., 4:13-md-02420-YGR, 4/19/13).

The litigation, consisting of five separate actions recently consolidated in the Northern District of California, involves the type of batteries used on consumer goods such as cellular telephones and laptop computers. The alleged scheme was already the target of ...