LOS ANGELES -- A group of major OEMs is asking a California court to dismiss anti-trust claims by Flextronics, arguing that the contract assembler failed to show how it was harmed in an alleged price-fixing case.

In a filing last Friday, Panasonic, Sanyo, Samsung and others cited in the complaint asserted that the four-year statute of limitations had expired prior to the original suit. The defendants further assert that an amended complaint by Flextronics "fails to cure the vast majority of the deficiencies of the original complaint," specifically by failing to delineate how Flex's subsidiaries were affected by the claim.

"With respect to claims based on purchases by its affiliates, Flex USA has provided nothing more than a list of 277 of its affiliates that allegedly assigned their supposed Sherman Act claims to it. But a mere list of affiliates — without any facts alleged concerning their purported purchases from Defendants or describing the assignment of their claims to Flex USA—is insufficient to plead that any of those affiliates ever possessed any claims against Defendants, or that Flex USA has the legal right to assert such claims now.

"For this and several other reasons, the Amended Complaint must be dismissed," the defendants wrote the court.

Multiple computer manufacturers have sued various makers under US federal and state antitrust laws of a global conspiracy to fix or raise prices of lithium ion batteries. The suits assert the criminal acts took place from January 2000 through May 2011.

Flextronics' complaint was filed in July 2016 against GS Yuasa, Hitachi Maxell, LG Chem America, LG Chem LTD, Maxell Corp. of America, NEC Corp., NEC Tokin Corp., Panasonic Corp., Panasonic Corp. of North America, Samsung SDI Co., Samsung SDI America Inc., Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd, Sanyo North America Corp., Sony Corp., Sony Electronics Inc., Sony Energy Devices Corp., and Toshiba Corp.

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