An antitrust lawsuit filed against Amazon by D.C. Attorney General Carl Racine was dismissed in court on Friday, according to a report in The New York Times.
DC Supreme Court Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo granted Amazon’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses the e-commerce giant of anti-competitive behavior because it prevents third-party sellers from offering lower prices for their products on other platforms, including their own websites. Court records viewed by the NYT do not indicate why Judge Puig-Lugo chose to dismiss the complaint.
“We think the Supreme Court was wrong”
“We believe the Supreme Court was wrong and its oral decision does not appear to have taken into account the detailed allegations in the complaint, the full scope of the anticompetitive agreements, the extensive briefing, and the recent federal court decision to allow a nearly identical lawsuit to move forward,” a spokesperson said. Attorney General’s Office Melissa Geller in a statement to The Verge.
The “almost identical” lawsuit Geller points to is a class action lawsuit against Amazon for similar reasons and alleges that the company is pressuring sellers to sell items at the same or lower price than they offer elsewhere. . Earlier this week, Seattle District Judge Richard A. Jones denied part of Amazon’s motion to dismiss the complaint.
Racine’s lawsuit, first filed in May 2021, builds on the same argument; it argues that Amazon’s restrictive policies are hurting consumers by forcing sellers to raise prices on Amazon and other online platforms because sellers must consider Amazon’s commission when pricing their products. In 2019, Amazon quietly withdrew a clause that requires sellers to offer items at the lowest prices on its marketplace, but both lawsuits allege that the same restrictions now apply to sellers under Amazon’s Fair Pricing Policy.
“We are reviewing our legal options and will continue to fight to develop sound antitrust practices in our local courts and to hold Amazon accountable for using its concentrated power to unfairly change the playing field in its favor,” says Geller.