[Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron Face Class-Action Lawsuit in the U.S. for Alleged Price Manipulation of Memory Chips] According to The Paper, 14 individual consumers and three small businesses filed an antitrust class-action lawsuit on June 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron of colluding to manipulate DRAM supply and pricing since 2022, resulting in a roughly 700% increase in memory prices over the past four years. The plaintiffs claim that the three companies used the transition to HBM as an excuse to artificially reduce the supply of traditional DDR3 and DDR4 memory. The lawsuit cites Apple's price hikes for iPads and Macs as evidence of supply restrictions impacting downstream products. If the plaintiffs win, the defendants may be required to pay triple damages. Samsung was previously fined $300 million in 2005 by the U.S. for price manipulation. Jefferies predicts that memory prices are unlikely to reverse in the short term, with quarter-over-quarter increases of 30% to 50% expected in the third and fourth quarters of 2026.