Judge approves x-ray film settlement

A U.S. District Court judge in New York has approved the settlement of a federal class-action lawsuit charging x-ray film companies with antitrust violations by allegedly conspiring to fix the price of film (SCAN 6/24/98). The judge’s action paves the way for the distribution of cash collected through the settlement, an amount that totals $39.4 million.

The lawsuit represented plaintiffs who purchased x-ray film on a wholesale basis, such as x-ray distributors, and named Kodak, Du Pont, Agfa, and Fuji as defendants. The four companies chose to settle the litigation rather than pay the legal costs involved in defending themselves, although they denied committing any antitrust violations. At least one state lawsuit has been settled, in California, on behalf of direct purchasers of x-ray film.

The judge in the federal lawsuit has approved the claim form and a supplemental notice that explains to members of the plaintiff class how to file a claim for their share of the settlement, according to plaintiff’s attorney Granvil Specks of Specks Goldberg in Chicago. Potential applicants must provide information on their purchases of wholesale x-ray film between 1989 and 1993 in order to be included in the settlement. The claim form and supplemental notice should be mailed to potential claimants in October, with settlement distributions made by the spring of 1999, he said.