A federal judge ruled that Amazon must face a class action lawsuit accusing the e-commerce giant of imposing inflated fees on third-party sellers that have been passed along to consumers.
U.S. District Judge John Chun allowed the lawsuit to move forward in an early August order, which was unsealed Friday. The certified class includes customers who bought more than five items from Amazon’s marketplace after May 2017.
Several customers initially sued the company in 2021, alleging the popular online marketplace restricts third-party sellers from offering lower prices on other platforms, a practice known as a platform most-favored-nation (PMFN) clause.
In the newly unsealed ruling, Chun rejected Amazon’s suggestion that the plaintiffs failed to show the existence of this policy, finding the company “has implemented certain policies and practices concerning third-party sellers that function” as such.
“Based on the above evidence, Plaintiffs have presented common evidence that shows, on a more probable than not basis, that a PMFN policy exists,” the judge wrote.
The arguments in the class action case closely resemble those brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and more than a dozen states, which sued the tech giant over alleged antitrust violations in 2023.
The government accused Amazon of using anti-competitive measures to prevent sellers from offering lower prices, keeping prices higher even beyond its own platform.
The company has argued its practices “benefit consumers and are the essence of competition.” The Hill has reached out to Amazon for comment on the latest decision.
Chun, who is also overseeing the FTC case, ruled last October that the government’s lawsuit against Amazon can go forward but dismissed several state claims.
