Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna has filed a lawsuit accusing the makers of Samsung, Toshiba, Sharp and five other brands of liquid crystal display screens of fixing prices.

"LCD panels can comprise up to 80 percent of a product's retail cost," McKenna said. "Our investigation shows manufacturers illegally fixed prices and through this conspiracy, fleeced Washington consumers who paid too much for TV(s), laptops and monitors. When cartels form and disregard rules governing fair competition, there will be repercussions."

The suit, filed yesterday afternoon in King County Superior Court, is the result of a year-long multistate investigation led by Washington and a handful of other states. It alleges that from 1998 to 2006, company leaders regularly met in secret to agree on prices, engage in bid rigging, limit their production, and agreed to conceal the existence of their illegal conduct.

As a result of these meetings, the AG's office claims the manufacturers illegally undermined competition in the LCD industry and consumers bore the cost of illegal overcharges. The lawsuit seeks restitution for state agencies and consumers, as well as civil penalties and injunctive relief.

Several of the companies and their executives have pled guilty to federal criminal charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Defendants named in Washington's suit are AU Optronics Corp., AU Optronics Corp. America, Chimei Innolux Corp., Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. USA Inc., Epson Imaging Devices Corp., Epson Electronics America Inc., Hitachi Displays Ltd., Hitachi Electronic Devices (USA) Inc., LG Display Co. Ltd., LG Display America Inc., Samsung Electronics Company Ltd., Samsung Semiconductor Inc., Samsung Electronics America Inc., Sharp Corp., Sharp Electronics Corp., Toshiba Corp., Toshiba America Electronics Components Inc., Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. and Toshiba Mobile Display Technology Company Ltd.