Summary
Amazon.com Inc. must face an antitrust lawsuit by a competing online retail platform that alleges the e-commerce giant maintains an illegal monopoly and uses that power to stifle competition.
Bloomberg Law
Zulily LLC, an online apparel retailer that describes itself as an Amazon victim, has offered enough evidence that it competes with Amazon in the online superstore market to pursue its antitrust claims, according to a Dec. 31 decision from Judge John Chun of the US District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Zulily also sufficiently alleged that Amazon’s “anti-discounting” practices, such as punishing third-party sellers that offer lower prices on Zulily’s platform, is anticompetitive under federal antitrust law, Chun wrote.
Any “pro-competitive justifications” Amazon has are a factual question that can be resolved during a trial, Chun said.
The ruling comes as Amazon faces similar legal pressure from the Federal Trade Commission. Chun, also overseeing the FTC case, in October denied Amazon’s motion to dismiss the federal antitrust claims the government is pursuing. That case, which alleges Amazon degrades quality for shoppers and overcharge sellers, is set to go to trial in 2026.
Amazon declined to comment on Thursday about the ruling in the Zulily lawsuit.”
