Even when lawsuits target manufacturers, contractors will still feel the impact. Homeowners don’t separate manufacturer decisions from contractor pricing. They just know what they paid, and who installed it. 

“Any kind of lawsuit that’s out there … that publicity is going to get around,” said Trent Cotney, partner and Construction Team Leader at the law firm of Adams & Reese LLP, general counsel for Florida Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association (FRACCA). 

On paper, contractors may not be the primary target. But in practice, they’re often a homeowner’s first point of contact — and that puts them squarely in the line of fire. 

“Homeowners aren't contracting with the manufacturer — they're contracting with the contractor,” Cotney said. 

As HVAC lawsuits gain visibility, contractors should expect more questions, more scrutiny, and in some cases, more legal exposure. One law firm is even marketing directly to HVAC contractors and distributors, encouraging them to participate in a class-action suit themselves. 

That kind of activity underscores how far these issues can reach — and how quickly they can start a ripple effect along the HVAC supply chain. 

Define Responsibility Before the Lawyers Do 

The first line of defense is the contract. 

Contractors should clearly define what they are — and are not — responsible for. That starts with tightening language around workmanship versus product performance. 

“The scope needs to be really clear,” Cotney said. “You want to have very tight language regarding what your responsibilities are with regard to workmanship, warranties, avoiding any kind of blanket responsibility for product performance.” 

That responsibility should be pushed, contractually, to the manufacturer wherever appropriate, Cotney said. Reference the equipment by name. Reference the manufacturer’s representative. Include their specs, recommendations, and any relevant documentation tied to the install. 

The goal is simple: If something goes wrong, there should be no ambiguity about who owns what. 

“In construction, the party with the best paperwork wins the day,” Cotney said. 

If It’s Not Documented, It Didn’t Happen 

If contracts define responsibility, documentation proves it. 

Contractors should document every installation as if it might be reviewed later. One particularly litigious homeowner, and it could end up as Exhibit A. 

“Photos, notes, delivery tickets, time tickets, any kind of manufacturer-specific instruction,” Cotney said. 

That record can be the difference between a defensible position and a costly dispute. Without it, even correct work becomes harder to prove. 

Contractors can’t prevent every issue, but they can control how those issues are handled. One strategy is to push product-related complaints into the warranty channel as early as possible. 

“If there is an issue, it’s important that the contractor put the manufacturer on notice,” Cotney said — and do it in writing. 

Recasting a complaint as a warranty issue doesn’t eliminate risk, Cotney said, but it puts contractors in a far more defensible position and keeps them from absorbing problems that weren’t theirs from the start. 

The Legal Risk You Might Be Creating Yourself 

While the current lawsuit is aimed at manufacturers, contractors shouldn’t assume they’re safely on the sidelines. Antitrust risk doesn’t stop upstream — in some cases, it can land much closer to home. 

“Antitrust and pricing is always an issue,” Cotney said. “Especially if this lawsuit becomes more of a consumer affairs issue at the state or federal level, you need to be very, very careful about anything that could be deemed price fixing or restraint of trade.” 

That risk often shows up in everyday interactions. Conversations with competitors about pricing — even casual ones — can be interpreted as restricting competition. 

Cotney pointed to ongoing federal investigations in the roofing industry, where contractors have faced scrutiny for bid rigging on public projects — including “round robin” schemes where competitors coordinate who wins. 

For HVAC contractors, the exposure isn’t just theoretical. 

“If you're working with competitors to influence pricing or market access, that’s where you get into trouble,” Cotney said. 

Even informal agreements can carry serious consequences. Carving up territory (“you take north Tampa, I’ll take south Tampa”), coordinating pricing, or jointly working to ice companies out of a market can all be viewed as conspiracy under federal law. 

The commercial side brings its own risks. Practices like reviewing competitors’ bids — particularly on public projects — can quickly cross the line. 

“Anytime you're dealing with taxpayer dollars, that’s when the alarms go off,” Cotney said. 

Contractors don’t need to operate in fear. But they do need guardrails — clear internal policies, training for estimators and sales teams, and a firm line against competitor coordination. Because when scrutiny increases, the difference comes down to how you operate — and how well you can defend it.