Energizer, Walmart lawsuits allege battery price-fixing

Battery price-fixing lawsuits overview: 

• Who: Energizer Battery Holdings and Walmart Inc. are facing a trio of class action lawsuits over their pricing of disposable batteries.  
• Why: Energizer is accused of allowing Walmart to conduct battery price-fixing at all retailers, an antitrust violation.
• Where: The Energizer lawsuits were filed in federal court in California.

Energizer and Walmart are facing a trio of class action lawsuits claiming they engaged in a battery price-fixing conspiracy.

U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts denied the companies’ attempt to dismiss the lawsuits, writing that the companies have standing and have adequately pleaded their claims.

“Determining whether the alleged agreement between Energizer and Walmart can ultimately be justified by benefits to competition that outweigh any harm will be a complex and fact-specific inquiry,” Pitts writes.

Energizer holds more than 50% of the market for disposable batteries in the U.S. and combines with Duracell to hold 85% of the market, while Walmart is the largest retailer in the world based on revenue.

The two battery makers dominate the market due to both their advertising spending and the difficulty of obtaining the critical minerals of cobalt, lithium and graphite and hazardous materials of lead and mercury in the process, the Walmart and Energizer lawsuits say.

Walmart complained; wholesale battery prices for Portable Power rose

The Walmart and Energizer lawsuits claim the two companies entered into an agreement around January 2018 in which “Walmart would give Energizer preferential treatment at its stores while Energizer would monitor Walmart’s competitors to keep them from undercutting Walmart’s retail prices for Energizer batteries,” Pitts wrote.

If necessary, the suits allege, Energizer would increase wholesale prices charged to competing battery sellers.

Energizer created a group called Project Atlas to keep an eye on battery retail prices and keep its distributors from undercutting Walmart, the battery price-fixing lawsuits say. By April 2018, Energizer had already raised wholesale prices by 8%, the plaintiffs claim.

Online retailer Portable Power claims it sold Energizer batteries for less than Walmart through Amazon, leading Walmart to complain. Energizer then raised wholesale battery prices for Portable Power by 50% to 80% in November 2018, the Energizer and Walmart lawsuits claim.

Walmart allegedly complained again in 2021, telling Energizer that Portable Power was a top-10 violator of Energizer pricing policies, according to an email forwarded to Portable Power.

The battery price-fixing agreement between Walmart and Energizer still remains in effect, the lawsuits say.

Portable Power is seeking in its lawsuit to represent wholesale purchasers of Energizer batteries; the plaintiffs in the other two lawsuits are seeking to represent those who purchased Walmart’s Energizer batteries and those who purchased Energizer batteries from other sellers.

Energizer is facing another class action lawsuit claiming its Mac Power Bank portable charger has 25% less charging power than promised.

Have you purchased Energizer batteries at Walmart? Let us know in the comments.

Portable Power and plaintiff Kimberly Schuman’s proposed direct purchaser class are represented by Joshua Davis of Berger Montague, Kyla Gibboney of Gibbs Law Group LLP and Matthew Weiler of Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky LLP. 

Plaintiff Don Copeland and a proposed indirect purchaser class are represented by Daniel Silverman, Alison Deich, Richard Koffman and John Bracken of Cohen Milstein Sellers and Toll PLLC, along with Sarah Grossman-Swenson and Kimberly Weber of McCracken Stemerman and Holsberry LLP.

The battery price-fixing lawsuits are 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-PCP, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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