Walmart Inc.'s effort to have three price-fixing lawsuits involving Energizer batteries dismissed failed on Friday when a federal judge ordered the litigation to proceed.
The proposed class-action lawsuits claim that Walmart and Energizer Holdings Inc. conspired to inflate the prices of disposable batteries in violation of state and federal antitrust laws.
The lawsuits were filed in May in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco.
Walmart and Energizer in November filed a motion to dismiss the cases. They claimed that the plaintiffs failed to provide evidence that Energizer charged other retailers higher wholesale prices than it did Walmart, court documents show, or that Walmart pressured Energizer to do so.
The plaintiffs seek compensatory and triple damages for violations of federal and state antitrust laws and state consumer protection laws.
The lawsuits are Copeland et al v. Energizer Holdings Inc. and Walmart Inc.; Portable Power Inc. v. Energizer Holdings Inc. and Walmart Inc.; and Schuman et al v. Energizer Holdings Inc. and Walmart Inc.
Walmart shares fell less than 1% Tuesday.