Major Inflation Lawsuit Targets HVAC Manufacturers: Claims and Class

A federal class action accuses seven major HVAC manufacturers of conspiring since January 2020 to inflate the price of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment across the U.S. market. The HVAC manufacturers price-fixing lawsuit, led by Berg v. Robert Bosch, LLC, et al. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, alleges the defendants used trade association data feeds, industry press announcements, and coded executive statements to move prices in lockstep instead of competing. It is one of at least six related cases now coordinated for pretrial proceedings, with Berg designated as the lead case.¹

Who Is Being Sued

The complaint names seven parent manufacturers, along with their subsidiaries, for a total of 22 defendant entities: Bosch, Trane, Carrier, Daikin, Lennox, Rheem, and AAON.²³ Together, plaintiffs say, these companies control roughly 90% or more of the U.S. residential and commercial HVAC market.⁴

The equipment covered by the case is broad: air conditioner condensers, heat pumps, furnaces, air handlers, rooftop units, split systems, chillers, and variable refrigerant flow systems.² If you replaced or installed almost any central HVAC system since 2020, the manufacturer is likely on the list.

What the Lawsuit Says the Manufacturers Did

The complaint alleges that starting in January 2020, the defendants engaged in “frequent and repeated secret meetings, information sharing, communications, and public signaling” to raise prices together rather than compete.⁵ Two channels are described as central to that coordination.

The first is the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Plaintiffs allege the manufacturers used AHRI to exchange competitively sensitive data, including through an “Executive Dashboard” launched in 2020 and a later analytics app that let members compare their product performance against competitors, on the condition that they contributed their own data in return.⁶ The second is the trade publication Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News (ACHR News), which the complaint says manufacturers used to announce planned price increases and telegraph pricing intentions, citing dozens of instances between 2020 and 2026 where competitors followed each other’s announcements.⁴ Conferences held by Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) are described as additional venues for alleged collusion.⁵

The complaint points to sequential price announcements as one pattern of coordination. In late 2019, Lennox announced increases of 3–6%, AAON 5%, Daikin brands 6%, and Allied Air 4–6%, all within weeks of each other. In March 2021, Trane announced a hike of up to 7.5% on commercial equipment, followed by increases from other manufacturers through 2021 and into 2022.³

Plaintiffs also allege the industry used “coded language” — words like “discipline,” “price realization,” and “maintaining margins” — to talk publicly about agreements not to compete on price.⁵ The complaint quotes Lennox CFO Michael Quenzer, in February 2026: “The industry’s generally been disciplined for the past several years… we’re gonna continue to increase our pricing to maintain our margins. I think others have generally been as well. You know, we, as an industry, have realized that… pricing… taking it away, does not win market share.”⁷ Trane’s executive vice president and CFO Chris Kuhn is quoted as saying, “I don’t want anyone to think that pricing is coming down in that market.”²

How Much Prices Rose

The complaint alleges HVAC prices climbed roughly 8% beyond what raw material costs — copper, aluminum, steel, resin, plastic, compressors — would justify.⁴ Plaintiffs argue the HVAC producer price index outpaced both the consumer price index and the producer price index for major household appliances, which they say points to price movement beyond what market conditions would explain.⁵

Industry reporting from 2024 put HVAC equipment prices about 40% higher than in 2020, with the cost of a full residential system replacement climbing from roughly $6,000 to around $12,000.⁸ The defendants have publicly attributed price increases to COVID-19 supply chain disruptions, rising raw material costs, new efficiency standards, and the refrigerant transition. The complaint calls those explanations “pretextual justifications, unsupported by the actual data.”⁷

Who Qualifies as a Class Member

The proposed class covers all individuals and businesses in the United States who indirectly purchased HVAC equipment made by the defendants for end use from January 1, 2020, through the present. An “indirect purchaser” is someone who bought from someone other than the manufacturer, such as an HVAC installer, contractor, or retailer, which describes most homeowners and building owners.⁹ A separate action brought by Reliable AC Services LLC covers direct purchasers such as wholesale distributors and contractors that bought from the manufacturers.¹

The suit is brought under Section 1 of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. § 1) and various state consumer protection and unfair competition laws.¹² Plaintiffs are seeking treble damages under the Clayton Act (three times the amount consumers overpaid), attorneys’ fees, and an injunction to stop the alleged conduct.⁹

No claims process is open. The class has not been certified, and no settlement has been reached or proposed. Consumers cannot file a claim or register at this stage.

Where the Case Stands

The lead case, Berg v. Robert Bosch, LLC, et al. (No. 2:26-cv-10949-SKD-APP), was filed on March 20, 2026, in the Eastern District of Michigan by plaintiff Alyssa Berg.² A companion case, Isom v. Trane Technologies PLC, et al. (No. 2:26-cv-11294-RJW-APP), was later filed in the same court with substantially similar allegations.¹⁰ By May 2026, at least six related cases were pending.¹¹

On May 13, 2026, attorneys for all six cases appeared before Judge Susan K. DeClercq. Rather than seek formal multidistrict litigation through the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, the parties agreed to coordinate pretrial proceedings informally, organizing the cases into three tracks by plaintiff type: end users, indirect purchasers, and direct purchasers.¹¹ On May 15, 2026, Judge DeClercq signed an order for pretrial consolidation naming Berg the lead case. Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, and The Miller Law Firm, P.C. were appointed Interim Co-Lead Class Counsel on April 21, 2026.¹

Discovery has been stayed by stipulation. Defendants have not yet responded to the complaints on the merits, and no motion to dismiss has been decided.¹

What the Manufacturers Say

Carrier said it “denies the baseless allegations” and “embraces competition and operates lawfully, and with integrity.”³ Trane called the claims “baseless” and said it is “committed to operating with integrity, complying with applicable laws and regulations, and providing value to our customers.”⁴ AAON said it believes the claims are “without merit.” Rheem denied the allegations and said it looks forward to defending itself. Bosch declined to comment on the pending litigation. Kyle Gargaro, editorial director for ACHR News, said the publication’s content “is not influenced by outside entities.”

1
Justia. HVAC Equipment Antitrust Litigation
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Hagens Berman. HVAC Price-Fixing Antitrust Class Action
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RSES. HVAC OEMs Accused of COVID-Era Price-Fixing, Covert Messaging
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Facilities Dive. Consumer Sues Manufacturers for Conspiring to Inflate HVAC Prices
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ACHR News. Lawsuit Alleges OEM Coordination Behind HVAC Price Increases
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AHRI Analytics. About Analytics
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Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP. HVAC Equipment Antitrust Litigation
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ACHR News. HVAC Equipment Prices Expected to Keep Rising
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Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP. Berg v. Robert Bosch Class Action Complaint
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Top Class Actions. Carrier, Trane, Rheem Among HVAC Companies Accused of Price-Fixing in Class Action
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HomePros News. And Then There Were Six: HVAC Manufacturer Lawsuits Move Toward Consolidation