A federal judge in Seattle ruled Thursday that Apple and Amazon must face a consumer antitrust lawsuit in U.S. courts that accuses Apple of conspiring with Amazon to artificially inflate the prices of iPhones and iPads on the latter’s platform. The judge denied Apple’s and Amazon’s motions to dismiss the lawsuit on various legal grounds.
The lawsuit, filed last November, is one of a number of private and government lawsuits against Amazon’s online pricing practices, and the judge’s ruling means the case will continue with evidence gathering and other pre-trial proceedings.
The plaintiffs are U.S. residents who began buying new iPhones and iPads on Amazon in January 2019. they claim that an agreement reached that year between Apple and Amazon that limits the number of competing sellers violates antitrust provisions.
In 2018, there were about 600 Apple third-party resellers on Amazon, the lawsuit says. Apple agreed to give discounts on Amazon’s products if Amazon reduced the number of Apple resellers on its marketplace, the lawsuit says.
Apple argues that its agreement with Amazon was designed to reduce the number of counterfeit Apple goods sold on the e-commerce platform. Apple’s lawyers said in court papers that such agreements are “common” and said “the Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals have routinely held that such agreements are pro-competitive and lawful.
The Seattle judge said the “motivation” for the agreement would be addressed in a subsequent lawsuit.
Apple reported sales of $94.8 billion in the second quarter, while Amazon reported revenue of $127.4 billion in its most recent quarterly earnings report.
The plaintiff seeks unspecified treble damages and other relief.
