Hawai'i was one of 34 states to file a lawsuit yesterday against the world's largest manufacturers of memory chips, saying they allegedly fixed prices to inflate the cost of personal computers and other electronic devices, state Attorney General Mark Bennett said.

The suit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco seeks monetary relief on behalf of state agencies that paid more for computers because of the alleged price-fixing.

"For years, Hawai'i state agencies paid more for computers as a result of a price-fixing conspiracy by companies that make memory chips that are a crucial component of many high-tech products," Bennett said. "Our lawsuit seeks to prohibit manufacturers from manipulating prices in the future and to recoup some of the losses."

New York's attorney general filed a separate lawsuit Thursday against the eight companies.

The lawsuits come in the wake of a U.S. Justice Department investigation that resulted in more than $730 million in fines and guilty pleas from four of the companies — Samsung Electronics Co., Elpida Memory Inc., Infineon Technologies AG and Hynix Semiconductor Inc.

Micron Technology Inc. was granted immunity from criminal charges in the DOJ case in exchange for its cooperation.

The companies, plus Mosel-Vitelic Corp., Nanya Technology Corp. and NEC Electronics America Inc., are accused of fixing prices on dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, chips from 1998 until 2002.

The lawsuit that Hawai'i is part of lays out details of the conspiracy, including an agreement by industry leaders to trim production in order to artificially raise prices, Bennett's office said.

The suit seeks damages, restitution, civil penalties and injunctive relief for state agencies and consumers who paid higher prices for electronics from 1998 to 2002 because of the alleged price-fixing.