NY Attorney General Sues Makers of Memory Chips

New York's attorney general sued leading makers of memory chips Thursday, claiming they made secret price-fixing arrangements that inflated the cost of personal computers and other electronic devices.

More than 30 other states were expected to file a separate but similar lawsuit against chip makers Friday in San Francisco federal court, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said.

Computer makers such as Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., Apple Computer Inc., International Business Machines Corp. and Gateway Inc. had to raise PC prices or reduce the amount of memory installed on their systems to compensate for the higher costs, prosecutors said.

The latest lawsuits will ask the companies to compensate consumers who paid higher prices and demand that the companies not collude in the future.