Judge rules the FTC can proceed with antitrust lawsuit against Amazon,
tosses out few state claims
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[October 08, 2024] By
HALELUYA HADERO
A federal judge said the Federal Trade Commission can proceed with its
landmark antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. But, he also gave the company
a small victory by tossing out a few claims made by states involved in
the legal fight.
The order, issued last week by Judge John H. Chun and unsealed on
Monday, is a major defeat for Amazon, which has tried for months to get
the case tossed out in court. A trial in the case is slated to be held
in October 2026.
“We are pleased with the court’s decision and look forward to moving
this case forward,” FTC spokesperson Doug Farrar said in a prepared
statement. “The ways Amazon illegally maintains its monopolies and the
harm they cause—including suppressed competition and higher prices for
shoppers and sellers—will be on full display at trial.”
The FTC and the attorneys general of 18 states, plus Puerto Rico, have
alleged in court the e-commerce behemoth is abusing its position in the
marketplace to inflate prices on and off its platform, overcharge
sellers and stifle competition that pops up on the market.
The lawsuit, which was filed in September 2023, is the result of a
yearslong investigation into the company’s business and is one of the
most significant legal challenges brought against Amazon in its nearly
30-year history.
U.S. regulators and state attorneys general are accusing the online
retailer of violating federal and state antitrust and consumer
protection laws.
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In the order, Judge Chun, of the
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, allowed
the federal challenges and many of the state claims to proceed. But
he dismissed some claims made by New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma
and Maryland under state antitrust or consumer protection laws.
Amazon, for its part, expressed confidence that it could prove its
argument in court as the case proceeds
“The ruling at this early stage requires the court to assume all
facts alleged in the complaint are true. They are not,” Tim Doyle
said in a statement, adding that the agency’s case “falsely” claims
consumers only consider popular sites Walmart.com, Target.com,
Amazon, and eBay when shopping for household products.
“Moving forward the FTC will have to prove its claims in court, and
we’re confident those claims will not hold up when the FTC has to
prove them with evidence,” Doyle said. He also asserted the FTC’s
approach “would make shopping more difficult and costly.”
The FTC is also suing Meta Platforms over alleged monopolistic
practices, while the Department of Justice has brought similar
lawsuits against Apple and Google, with some success.
In August, a federal judge ruled that Google’s ubiquitous search
engine is illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition
and stifle innovation.
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