360 DigiTech, Inc. Securities Fraud Investigation
Investigation Deadline: December 1, 2023
September 30, 2026
News
Court Allows Antitrust Price-Fixing Claims Against Rouse and the Nation’s Largest Construction Equipment Rental Companies to Proceed
The ruling is a significant development in the emerging law of “algorithmic pricing” antitrust litigation
Berger Montague, a leading national plaintiffs’ law firm, announces that a federal judge has denied motions to dismiss claims that Rouse and the largest construction equipment rental companies in the United States conspired to fix, raise, and maintain nationwide rental prices through a shared data and benchmarking platform.
“Courts are increasingly recognizing that price coordination through a shared platform can be just as unlawful as an old-fashioned agreement among competitors,” said Shareholder Michaela L. Wallin. “This ruling is an important part of that development.”
In a September 28, 2026, Opinion and Order, U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis allowed claims under Section 1 of the Sherman Act to proceed against Rouse and the rental company defendants. The Court also denied the individual motions to dismiss filed by EquipmentShare.com, Inc., The Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., and Sunstate Equipment Co., LLC. The Court held that plaintiffs “plausibly allege an unlawful agreement in both restraint of trade and information exchange,” and that the platform “operates as an obligation rather than a suggestion.” The case, In re Construction Equipment Rental Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 3152, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
The lawsuit, brought on behalf of a proposed class of contractors and businesses that rent construction equipment, alleges that the rental companies fixed prices through Rouse Rental Insights (“RRI”), a shared platform operated by Rouse. Plaintiffs allege that participating companies submitted their most competitively sensitive pricing and utilization data to Rouse nightly and, in exchange, received benchmark prices—generated from their competitors’ data—that were built into their pricing systems and used to align rental rates. According to the complaint, the companies priced within RRI’s ranges roughly 90 percent of the time, and the platform’s tools and the companies’ internal policies enforced adherence to those benchmarks. The proposed class includes persons and entities in the United States and its territories that rented construction equipment from the defendants beginning April 1, 2021.
Berger Montague filed the first case in this litigation and, following consolidation before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, was appointed Interim Co-Lead Class Counsel, together with DiCello Levitt LLP, after contested leadership briefing. Zachary D. Caplan argued for Plaintiffs at the hearing on the motions to dismiss. The team also includes Julia McGrath, Michaela Wallin, and Sarah Zimmerman.
Additional Information
- Construction Equipment Rental Antitrust Case Moves Ahead, Law360 (September 29, 2026). Read more here.
- Read more about In re Construction Equipment Rental Antitrust Litigation here www.bergermontague.com/construction.
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. With more than $2.4 billion in 2025 post-trial judgments alone, the Firm is a leader in the fields of complex litigation, antitrust, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among many other practice areas. For over 55 years, Berger Montague has played leading 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; Malvern, PA; Minneapolis; San Diego; San Francisco; Toronto, Canada; Washington, DC, and Wilmington, DE.
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