Judge rules the FTC can proceed with antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, tosses out few state claims

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This article was published 07/10/2024 (700 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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.

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.

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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.