Amazon successfully won the dismissal on Friday of an antitrust lawsuit brought upon the company by the District of Columbia stating that the company was negatively impacting consumers by preventing sellers on its platform from offering better prices for their products on other platforms.
The office of D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine who has opposed the motion on dismissal released a statement stating that “We believe that the Superior Court got this wrong, and its oral ruling did not seem to consider the detailed allegations in the complaint, the full scope of the anticompetitive agreements, the extensive briefing, and a recent decision of a federal court to allow a nearly identical lawsuit to move forward. We are considering our legal options and we’ll continue fighting to develop reasoned antitrust jurisprudence in our local courts and to hold Amazon accountable for using its concentrated power to unfairly tilt the playing field in its favor.”
Amazon’s argument for dismissal was based upon the notion that pricing restrictions are common within the retail industry and are completely legal. Amazon also argued that the company actively seeks to maintain low prices and this lawsuit could harm consumers by resulting in rising prices across the platform.
Amazon has stated that preventing retailers from offering their products at a lower cost on other platforms prevents consumers from being overcharged on the Amazon platform, however, this can result in higher prices overall as if producers use Amazon, they are unable to offer lower prices through more cost-effective means of distribution.
Source: Yahoo News
