A federal court has appointed Cuneo Gilbert Flannery & LaDuca, LLP as Interim Co-Lead Class Counsel for Commercial Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs, alongside co-lead Zimmerman Reed LLP, to represent a proposed class of commercial indirect purchasers, primarily small, independent HVAC contractors and installers, who allege they paid artificially inflated prices for HVAC equipment.
The case names seven major defendant groups controlling approximately 90 percent of the U.S. HVAC equipment market: Bosch, Trane, Carrier, Daikin, Lennox, Rheem, and AAON. Plaintiffs allege these manufacturers coordinated price increases starting in 2020, using trade association meetings and public announcements to fix and maintain supracompetitive prices. When prices rose sharply, defendants attributed the increases to COVID-19 supply chain disruptions, updated energy efficiency standards, and the phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), justifications plaintiffs contend do not account for the scale of the increases. The HVAC Producer Price Index broke sharply from general inflation trends beginning in 2020, and defendants reported record profit margins throughout the same period.
“The nation’s largest HVAC manufacturers control the overwhelming majority of the HVAC equipment market, and contractors and small businesses across the country have been forced to absorb dramatic and sustained price increases for essential equipment,” said Michael Flannery and Evelyn Riley of Cuneo Gilbert Flannery & LaDuca, LLP, Interim Co-Lead Counsel for the Commercial Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs. “We believe these manufacturers coordinated to drive prices far beyond what market conditions justified, placing a significant financial burden on the independent contractors, installers, and businesses that rely on HVAC equipment every day. We are honored to help lead this litigation and look forward to pursuing accountability and meaningful relief for those harmed by the alleged conspiracy.”
The appointment was secured by CGFL partner Evelyn Riley, who appeared on the firm's behalf at the leadership hearing in the Eastern District of Michigan. Riley has over a decade of experience litigating and managing complex multidistrict antitrust litigation, including serving as one of the principal attorneys representing thousands of automobile dealerships in the Auto Parts MDL, and currently serves on the co-lead counsel team in the Beef, Pork, and Turkey antitrust matters representing Commercial and Institutional Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs are seeking treble damages, injunctive relief, and disgorgement of profits under antitrust laws, unfair competition laws, consumer protection laws, and unjust enrichment common laws.
The case is Safford's Heating, Cooling, and Refrigeration v. Robert Bosch, LLC, et al., Case No. 2:26-cv-11341, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.