Amazon.com Inc. can’t escape an antitrust lawsuit by California accusing the e-commerce giant of pushing third-party sellers to agree to policies that leave consumers paying “artificially high prices.”
(Bloomberg) — Amazon.com Inc. can’t escape an antitrust lawsuit by California accusing the e-commerce giant of pushing third-party sellers to agree to policies that leave consumers paying “artificially high prices.”
A state court judge on Tuesday tentatively denied the company’s request to throw out the complaint by California Attorney General Rob Bonta challenging Amazon merchant agreements that bar sellers from offering lower prices on other sites and impose stiff penalties if they do.
Agreements block competition from other online retailers, resulting in inflated fees for merchants and higher prices for consumers, Bonta said in the complaint filed in September.
Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has a chance at a hearing set for Wednesday to persuade San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman to change his ruling before making it final.
The ruling, if finalized, would mark a victory for California after a similar suit filed in 2021 by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine was dismissed.
Read More: Amazon Keeps Prices ‘Artificially High,’ California Alleges
Schulman said he was “unpersuaded” by Amazon’s argument that California didn’t adequately allege a market-wide anticompetitive effect caused by the company’s agreements with third-party merchants that the sellers on its marketplace won’t sell products available at a lower price on competing e-commerce sites.
Bonta claims merchants risked less prominent placement on Amazon or even removal from the site if they charged less on rivals like Walmart, Target, eBay, and, in some instances, their own websites. California’s complaint highlighted Amazon’s market dominance, calling the 160 million members of its Prime subscription service “the most lucrative customers online.”
(Adds details from order, response from Amazon)
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