$32 Million Telescope Class Action Settlement Resolves Antitrust Lawsuit

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A $32 million class action settlement resolves antitrust litigation that alleged consumers paid more for telescopes than they would have had certain companies and individuals not conspired to illegally fix or stabilize the prices for telescopes. 

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The telescope settlement covers individuals in certain states who, between January 1, 2005 and September 6, 2023, bought from a retailer or distributor one or more telescopes that any of the defendants or alleged co-conspirators (listed below) manufactured. Purchases made by residents of the following states and the District of Columbia are covered: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, or Wisconsin. 

The defendants and alleged co-conspirators central to the telescope class action settlement include: 

• Celestron Acquisition, LLC;
• Meade Instruments Corp.;
• Nantong Schmidt Opto-Electrical Technology Co. Ltd.;
• Ningbo Sunny Electronic Co. Ltd.;
• Olivon Manufacturing Co. Ltd.;
• Olivon, USA LLC;
• Pacific Telescope Corp.;
• Suzhou Synta Optical Technology Co. Ltd.;
• Sunny Optical Technology Co., Ltd.;
• Sunny Optics Inc.;
• SW Technology Corporation;
• Synta Canada International Enterprises Ltd.; and
• Synta Technology Corp. of Taiwan.

The $32,000,000 telescope settlement detailed on this page is legitimate and was preliminarily approved by the court on November 4, 2024. The official settlement website can be found at TelescopeSettlement.com. 

Typically, qualifying telescopes covered by the settlement include Celestron-, Orion-, Skywatcher-, Zhumell- and Meade-branded telescopes, the settlement website relays. The settlement does not include other optical instruments not marketed as telescopes, such as binoculars, siting scopes and microscopes, the site specifies. 

To file a telescope settlement claim form, head to this page. Select the appropriate option depending on whether you have a claim number (found on your personalized settlement notice) and wish to securely file a claim form online. Otherwise, you can download a personalized claim form to print out and submit by mail, or proceed with filing a claim form without a claim number. 

Telescope settlement claim forms must be filed online or by mail by May 20, 2025. 

The only way to receive a payout from the settlement is by submitting a timely, valid claim form. If you do nothing, you will receive no settlement benefits and be bound by the terms of the deal. 

A final approval hearing for the telescope class action settlement is scheduled for April 3, 2025. It is typically after the court grants final approval to a class action settlement, and any appeals have been resolved, that class members begin to receive benefits. 

The telescope class action lawsuit alleged the defendants listed on this page unlawfully conspired to fix or stabilize prices, rig bids, and allocate the market for telescopes sold to consumers, and attempted and conspired to monopolize the consumer telescope market in the United States. 

Did you know that some class action settlements require no proof to submit a claim? Check out the latest open class action settlements.