The Tokyo District Court on Thursday rejected a damages suit filed by three Mitsubishi Corp. shareholders against the trading company's executives over massive damages and settlement payouts made in the United States in connection with illegal price-fixing of graphite electrodes.
The shareholders had been seeking $199 million in damages -- the amount of money paid out by Mitsubishi in the United States -- on the grounds that the executives neglected their supervisory duty, which led the company to violate the U.S. Antimonopoly Law.
Presiding Judge Atsuo Nagano dismissed the claim, saying the plaintiffs had provided insufficient proof that the executives were responsible.