Antitrust Lawsuit Targets Cartel Driving Up Construction Equipment Rental Prices

On April 2, Berger Montague, a national plaintiffs’ law firm, along with co-counsel Edelson and Hausfeld, filed an antitrust lawsuit to combat an unlawful cartel that is raising construction equipment rentals prices nationwide.

The complaint alleges that the nation’s largest construction equipment rental companies—United Rentals, Sunbelt Rentals, HERC, H&E Equipment, and Sunstate Equipment—act as a cartel through Rouse Services to artificially inflate rental prices in violation of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1.

The once fragmented U.S. construction equipment rental market has become increasingly concentrated and is dominated by the Rental Company Defendants. These Rental Company Defendants circumvented competitive market forces by pooling their most sensitive internal data and collectively setting supra-competitive prices through Rouse.

The complaint alleges that the Rouse Cartel has established an electronic, real-time, common Rouse Rental Insights price for use by rental company members only. It also includes detailed allegations that this joint price-setting function was widely recognized and followed within the industry.

By acting collectively through Rouse to raise prices, the Defendants have, for years, artificially inflated the cost of construction equipment, including dozers, excavators, hoes, steers, compaction equipment, cranes, and loaders. While the rental companies profited, those who depend on construction equipment rentals to run their own businesses faced significant hardships.

“We are determined to fight back against these anticompetitive practices and ensure a fairer market for all,” said Berger Montague PC Shareholder Zachary Caplan. “The alleged Rouse Cartel targets as victims those companies shouldered with the responsibility of building our nation’s housing, commercial centers, and infrastructure,” added Hausfeld LLP Partner Gary I. Smith, Jr. “We believe we’ll be able to prove to a jury that these companies are taking money out of the pockets of hardworking Americans by artificially driving up prices across the country,” said Edelson PC partner Natasha Fernández-Silber.

The complaint seeks to hold Rouse and the Rental Company Defendants accountable for their anticompetitive conduct. The plaintiff is pursuing injunctive relief and treble damages on behalf of itself and all others similarly situated who have been impacted by the Rouse Cartel.

Berger Montague is one of the nation’s preeminent law firms focusing on complex civil litigation, class actions, and mass torts in federal and state courts throughout the United States. The firm is active in the fields of antitrust, commercial litigation, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among many other practice areas. For more than 50 years, Berger Montague has played lead roles in precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago, Minneapolis, San Diego, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, DE.

Edelson PC is a nationally recognized leader in high-stakes plaintiff’s litigation, including class actions, mass torts, government enforcement and antitrust actions. As lead counsel, the firm has recovered over $5 billion in settlements and judgments, with its overall settlements and judgments surpassing $45 billion. Edelson PC has offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Boulder, Washington, D.C., and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Hausfeld is a leading litigation law firm with offices in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., as well as in the UK and continental Europe. In the last decade, Hausfeld has won landmark trials, negotiated complex settlements, and recovered billions of dollars for clients both in and out of court. Hausfeld lawyers consistently apply forward-thinking ideas and creative solutions to the most vexing global legal challenges faced by clients. As a result, the firm’s litigators have developed numerous innovative legal theories that have expanded the quality and availability of legal recourse for claimants around the globe.