HVAC Manufacturers Ask Michigan Federal Judge to Dismiss Price-Fixing Class Actions With Prejudice
Twenty-three defendants in seven corporate families filed the joint motion Oct. 9 in the Eastern District of Michigan. Plaintiffs allege an 8 percent overcharge since 2020. Their response is due Dec. 8, and replies are due Jan. 22.
The largest U.S. HVAC equipment manufacturers asked a federal judge in Michigan on Oct. 9 to throw out the class actions accusing them of fixing prices since 2020, arguing the complaints identify no agreement. The joint motion in In re HVAC Equipment Antitrust Litigation, No. 2:26-cv-10949, before U.S. District Judge Susan K. DeClercq in the Eastern District of Michigan, seeks dismissal with prejudice and requests oral argument.
No allegation in the case has been proven, and the court has not ruled.
What the complaints allege
Alyssa Berg filed the first suit March 20. Contractors followed, among them Richard Isom of Air Tech Services in Florida, and the cases were consolidated in May. Three amended complaints came on July 10 from direct purchasers, from commercial indirect purchasers who buy for resale, and from end users. All cover purchases of ducted equipment from Jan. 1, 2020, onward.
The plaintiffs allege that Trane, Carrier, Daikin, Bosch, Lennox, Rheem and AAON control more than 90 percent of the U.S. market and coordinated through three channels: non-public data exchanged through the trade group AHRI and subscription data tools, public price signals in earnings calls and trade press, and restrictions on output. Neither AHRI nor ACHR News, the publication the complaints say carried the announcements, is a defendant.
The original complaint quotes Lennox CFO Michael Quenzer in February 2026: "[W]e're gonna continue to increase our pricing to maintain our margins. I think others have generally been as well." Facilities Dive reported that the Isom suit quotes him at a July 2025 conference saying, "Next year, we'll do our annual price increase, and just like we always do, we expect similar results by others." A regression in the Berg complaint estimates an overcharge of 8 percent, and the complaint calls the manufacturers' cost explanations "pretextual excuses." The plaintiffs seek treble damages under the Sherman Act.
The manufacturers' answer
"None of the three Complaints alleges any direct communication," the 50-page brief says, describing the case as "unremarkable, independent responses to supply-chain challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, regulatory requirements, and tariffs." The defendants accept the allegations as true for this motion only, "without admitting their truth."
Much of the brief turns the plaintiffs' numbers against them. By its count of the complaints, Bosch announced six increases totaling 39 percent, Lennox announced 10 residential increases totaling 87 percent, and Trane announced 15 commercial increases totaling 115 percent. It cites gaps of up to eight months between announcements, and it says Bosch, Carrier, Daikin, Rheem and Mitsubishi Electric Trane are not alleged to have announced any increase in 2020.
- Oct. 6: Daikin Industries, Ltd., a Japanese company, moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction
- Oct. 8: Daikin entities moved to stay the end-user claims pending arbitration
- Oct. 9: all defendants filed the joint motion to dismiss, ECF No. 178
- Oct. 9: AAON moved separately, saying its "highly customized" equipment cannot fit a price-signaling theory and that it announced no increases in 2023 or 2024
- Oct. 9: Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US moved separately, saying it distributes the mini-splits the complaints exclude
On signaling, the defendants say executives were answering analysts and meeting disclosure duties, and that AHRI data is aggregated and covers no prices. They argue the plaintiffs' regression discloses no data or method, borrowing a line from a 2025 Ohio tire ruling that dismissed such work as "an unsupported legal conclusion" that "has been converted into a graph."
The plaintiffs measure HVAC prices against inflation and the household appliance producer price index. The brief replies that the complaints give no reason "household appliances (like toasters)" are fair comparators for equipment that can exceed $100,000.
Statements outside the filings
Carrier told Facilities Dive in May: "We deny the baseless allegations in this lawsuit and will fight it vigorously." Trane said in a March email to the same outlet that it would "vigorously defend ourselves against these baseless claims." Lennox said in its latest quarterly filing that it "disputes these allegations and plans to vigorously defend itself" and cannot yet estimate any loss.
The calendar
Under a Sept. 3 scheduling order, the plaintiffs' opposition is due Dec. 8 and replies are due Jan. 22, 2027. A May order stays discovery until the Rule 12 motions are resolved, except that initial disclosures come 91 days after briefing closes, which points to late April.
Why This Matters to Contractors
Daikin's arbitration motion attaches product registration certificates and warranties, so the paperwork behind installed equipment could decide whether some end users stay in the case at all. The end-user plaintiffs have reserved the right to contest whether any enforceable arbitration provision exists, and also the right to amend and allege conduct starting before 2020. Contractors sit on a different track as commercial indirect purchasers, and their claim depends on the same plausibility ruling, which the defendants say should follow a March dismissal by a federal court in Ohio, within the Sixth Circuit.
Sources
- Defendants' Joint Motion to Dismiss and supporting brief, In re HVAC Equipment Antitrust Litigation, No. 2:26-cv-10949 (E.D. Mich.), ECF No. 178, Oct. 9, 2026. storage.courtlistener.com
- Class Action Complaint, Berg v. Robert Bosch LLC, ECF No. 1, March 20, 2026. storage.courtlistener.com
- AAON Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 177, Oct. 9, 2026. storage.courtlistener.com
- Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US LLC's Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 179, Oct. 9, 2026. storage.courtlistener.com
- Stipulation and Order Regarding Briefing Schedule and Page Limits, ECF No. 134, Sept. 3, 2026. storage.courtlistener.com
- Stipulation and Order on End-User Purchases Before Jan. 1, 2020, and Arbitration Briefing, ECF No. 145, Sept. 21, 2026. storage.courtlistener.com
- Consolidation order including stay of discovery, ECF No. 91, May 15, 2026. storage.courtlistener.com
- CourtListener, docket for In re HVAC Equipment Antitrust Litigation. courtlistener.com
- Lennox International, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026. sec.gov
- Facilities Dive, "HVAC manufacturers face second suit over price-fixing allegation," May 2026. facilitiesdive.com
- ACHR News, "HVAC Manufacturers Seek Dismissal of Price-Fixing Lawsuits," Oct. 14, 2026. achrnews.com