#pricefixing

The Department of Justice and more than a dozen states have reached a proposed settlement with three of the country’s leading egg producers to resolve claims that the companies colluded to manipulate egg prices.  The agreement comes after an investigation by federal antitrust enforcers and state attorneys general alleged that Cal-Maine Food, Versova/Centrum and Hickman’s Egg Ranch coordinated to…

Seven HVAC giants just got sued.

A new class-action complaint filed March 20 in federal court accuses Bosch, Carrier, Trane, Lennox, Daikin, Rheem, and AAON of coordinating price hikes since the start of 2020. Together those seven brands sell roughly 90% of U.S. residential heating and cooling equipment.

The theory: the companies used COVID supply disruptions, SEER2 efficiency rules, and the A2L refrigerant transition as cover for parallel price increases that wouldn't normally pass antitrust scrutiny. The filing specifically focuses on the A2L changeover as a way to introduce new product lines at higher prices without drawing outright sticker-shock headlines.

Nothing has been decided in court. The defendants haven't even filed answers yet. But the facts being alleged are specific enough that the case is likely to survive an early motion to dismiss.

Discovery, if it happens, won't wrap up until 2027 or later. If you're a contractor or homeowner who bought HVAC equipment post-2020, keep your invoices. In states that allow indirect-purchaser antitrust claims (California included), documentation is what establishes standing down the line.

The plea agreement is the first to come out of the Competition Bureau’s seven-year investigation into one of Canada’s largest price fixing scandals..

Booker, a wholesale food retailer in the UK, has been fined twice for anti-competitive practices that harmed consumers and small businesses. In 2007, the company was found to have colluded with other wholesalers to fix prices for certain products, leading to higher prices for customers, including small retailers and independent convenience stores. Booker was fined £1.75 million and agreed to change its business practices.

In 2016, the company was fined £5 million for giving preferential treatment to its own retail customers, making it difficult for independent stores to compete. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that Booker's actions reduced competition and put independent stores at a disadvantage. Booker disputed the findings, but the CMA maintained that the company's practices were anti-competitive and harmful.