Apple, Amazon Must Face Consumer Lawsuit Over Inflated iPhone, iPad Prices: US Judge

Apple and Amazon.com should face a shopper antitrust lawsuit in U.S. courtroom accusing them of conspiring to artificially inflate the value of iPhones and iPads offered on Amazon’s platform, a federal decide in Seattle dominated on Thursday.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour rejected bids from Apple and Amazon to dismiss the possible class motion on varied authorized grounds.

Coughenour stated the “validity” of the relevant market, a central issue in antitrust litigation, was a question for a jury.

The lawsuit, filed in November, is among several private and government actions challenging Amazon’s online price practices. Coughenour’s ruling means the case will move forward to evidence-gathering and other pretrial proceedings.

Lawyers for Apple and Amazon and representatives for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.

Steve Berman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, called the court’s ruling “a major win for consumers of Apple phones and iPads.”

The plaintiffs are U.S. residents who purchased new iPhones and iPads on Amazon starting in January 2019. They contend an settlement between Apple and Amazon that went into impact that 12 months restricted the variety of aggressive resellers in violation of antitrust provisions.

In 2018, in keeping with the lawsuit, there have been some 600 third-party Apple resellers on Amazon. Apple agreed to present Amazon a reduction on its merchandise if Amazon decreased the variety of Apple resellers from its market, the lawsuit alleged.

Apple has argued that its settlement with Amazon restricted the variety of licensed resellers to assist decrease counterfeit Apple items being offered on the e-commerce platform.

In a courtroom submitting, Apple’s attorneys known as the settlement “commonplace” and said the “Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit have routinely recognized that such agreements are procompetitive and lawful.”

The decide in Seattle stated “countervailing” motivations for the agreement between Apple and Amazon would be addressed later in the litigation.

Apple recorded $94.8 billion in sales in the second quarter, and Amazon reported $127.4 billion in its most recent quarterly earnings report.

The complaint seeks unspecified triple damages and other relief.

The case is Steven Floyd v Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, No. 2:22-cv-01599-JCC.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Reuters)