Apple and Amazon have won the dismissal of a consumer antitrust lawsuit in a Seattle federal court that accused them of conspiring to inflate prices of iPhones and iPads sold on Amazon.

The case was overseen by US District Judge Kymberly Evanson, who said the plaintiffs’ lawyers misled the court about their client’s intention to withdraw from the case while attempting to add new plaintiffs.

The lawsuit, filed in 2022, claimed a 2019 agreement between Apple and Amazon restricted the number of competing resellers on Amazon’s platform, allegedly violating antitrust laws.

According to the complaint, Amazon had about 600 third-party Apple resellers in 2018, and Apple allegedly offered Amazon discounts in exchange for reducing that number.

Both companies denied any wrongdoing.

The plaintiffs, represented by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, did not contest a combined US$223,000 sanction in legal fees to Apple and Amazon after the court criticized their handling of the case.

🔗 Source: Reuters

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