Godzilla couldn’t get the better of New York, and now some of the big green fella’s Far East compatriots are in trouble with the Big Apple. New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo has filed a lawsuit that alleges major suppliers of LCD screens – including Sharp, Hitachi, as well as South Korean duo LG and Samsung – engaged in price fixing that lasted a decade and ended up costing public institutions within his district potentially millions of dollars in overcharges.

The suit is seeking damages from makers of screens used in devices ranging from televisions to mobile phones. One can only assume that a guilty verdict could have major repercussions for the companies involved and possibly open the floodgates to multiple lawsuits.

“Our investigation shows that an illegal cartel eliminated competition in the marketplace for LCD screens, made its own secret decisions to boost prices, and then took steps to make those high prices stick,” Cuomo was cited as saying in a Wall Street Journal report.

“The state purchasers on whose behalf this action is brought and the taxpayers whose dollars financed those purchases have suffered substantial damages stemming from defendants’ unlawful conspiracy,” the filing apparently said.

MarketWatch meanwhile stated the suit, filed in the state court of Manhattan, alleged display screens were sold at illegally fixed prices to companies including Dell and IBM, which were vendors to schools, hospitals, fire departments, colleges and other public entities in New York.

In recent years, the US Department of Justice has brought criminal charges against some of the purported cartel members. According to some reports, several companies, including LG, Sharp and Hitachi have pleaded guilty to price-fixing and agreed to pay out more than $890 million in fines.

The cheeky pups eh.