Battery Price-Fixing Lawsuit: Scam Or Legit? Read This
Did you hear about the Battery Price-Fixing Lawsuit? its not a scam.
Energizer Battery Holdings and Walmart Inc. are in some trouble with not one, not two, but three class action lawsuits. What’s the deal? Well, Energizer is being accused of turning a blind eye while Walmart supposedly fixed the prices of disposable batteries across all stores.
Who Is Behind The Battery Price-Fixing Lawsuit
District Judge P. Casey Pitts wasn’t buying the companies’ attempt to brush off the lawsuits.
Pitts also mentioned that figuring out if this alleged deal between Energizer and Walmart is actually okay in terms of competition.
Just to give you an idea, Energizer basically rules over half of the disposable battery market in the U.S. And when you throw in Duracell, they pretty much dominate 85% of the market.
How Much Is The Settlement
There is no settlement amount for now.
The lawsuits claim that Energizer wasn’t shy about raising wholesale prices for other battery sellers if it meant keeping Walmart happy. They even set up a special group, Project Atlas, just to keep tabs on battery prices and make sure no one undercut Walmart. By April 2018, Energizer had already bumped up wholesale prices by 8%, according to the plaintiffs.
Then there’s the case of Portable Power, an online retailer selling Energizer batteries for less than Walmart on Amazon. Walmart wasn’t too pleased about this and allegedly complained.
Conclusion
Copeland, et al. v. Energizer Battery Holdings Inc., et al., Case No. 23-cv-02087-PCP, Portable Power Inc. v. Energizer Battery Holdings Inc., et al., Case No. 23-cv-02091-PCP and Schuman, et al. v. Energizer Battery Holdings Inc., et al., Case No. 23-cv-02093- is not a scam. Just like Facebook User Tracking Class Settlement. Energizer jacked up wholesale battery prices for Portable Power by 50% to 80% in November 2018, as claimed in the lawsuits.
