Micron Technology Inc. and one of its biggest competitors say they will share the cost if they are found jointly liable in a multibillion-dollar price-fixing lawsuit against them in San Francisco.
A verdict in the lawsuit by California memory-chip designer Rambus Inc. has been in the hands of a jury for more than a month.
Micron and Hynix Semiconductor Inc. signed the cost-sharing agreement last month. Micron made it public in its annual report filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Rambus alleges that the Boise company and Hynix, two of the world's top manufacturers of memory chips for computers and other digital devices, conspired a decade ago to lower certain chip prices and backed off a commitment to make dynamic random access memory designed by Rambus.
Rambus says the conspiracy cost it $3.95 billion. Under California law, damages could be tripled to $11.9 billion.
The judgment-sharing agreement is not unusual in antitrust cases involving multiple defendants, said Rod Lewis, Micron’s vice president of legal affairs and general counsel.
“The agreement applies only in the case of joint liability," Lewis told the Idaho Statesman. "Based on the evidence presented at trial, we believe that Micron will not be found liable, in which case the judgment-sharing agreement would not apply.”
Mike Howard, a semiconductor analyst for IHS iSuppli and a former Micron employee, says the agreement may also be a way for Hynix and Micron, usually competitors, to show solidarity before Rambus. The agreement is a way of saying, “You’re not going to pick us off one at a time,” Howard said. He said Micron and Hynix believe they have “a pretty good case.”
Earlier this year, Lewis said the Rambus' case is one example of Rambus' "continued attempts to place blame on third parties for its failure to compete successfully in the marketplace."
Micron also said it would likely appeal a judgment against it in Rambus case.
In September, company officials told analysts that it has not set aside money specifically against the possibility of an adverse judgment.
“We are unable to predict the outcome of this lawsuit and therefore cannot determine the likelihood of loss nor estimate a range of possible los,” the annual report says.
Bloomberg News contributed.
