ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (SHNEYE'-dur-muhn) says three companies based in Asia have agreed to pay $571 million to settle claims by officials in eight states that they conspired to inflate prices for liquid crystal display screens used in televisions and computer monitors.
    
The agreements signed Thursday with AU Optronics Corp., LG Display Co. Ltd., Toshiba Corp. and U.S. affiliates follow a $553 million settlement in December with seven other manufacturers from Japan, Korea and Taiwan accused of fixing prices for thin film transistor LCD panels from 1999 to 2006.
    
Schneiderman says following court approval about $692 million will be available for partial refunds to consumers in 24 states.
    
The settlements conclude the lawsuit against the companies.
    
The states involved are: Arkansas, California, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New York, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Associated Press