NuAxiSemiconductor trade intelligence

Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron Fail to Get DRAM Antitrust Suit Dismissed

What happened

The class-action lawsuit accusing Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron of restricting DRAM supply is moving forward. On November 14, U.S. District Judge Noël Wise of the Northern District of California denied the three companies' joint motion to dismiss, finding the complaint plausibly alleges an agreement in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The suit was filed in June (year not stated in the source) by 17 consumers and small businesses, claims the trio held over 91% of global DRAM revenue as of Q3 2025, and alleges (nothing yet proven) that they coordinated production cuts starting in late 2022 and shifted capacity toward HBM while conventional DRAM prices rose 697% over 18 months. This is a pleading-stage ruling and nothing has been proven. The companies argued the case was a rerun of an earlier suit over 2016 to 2018 supply cuts, which the Ninth Circuit threw out in 2022; Judge Wise disagreed, citing newer alleged conduct including long-term HBM contracts, Samsung and SK hynix allegedly refusing long-term deals with conventional DRAM buyers, Micron shutting down Crucial, and near-identical customer vetting questions all three adopted in January 2026.