From Reuters:
A federal judge on Monday heavily trimmed an antitrust lawsuit that accused Amazon.com, opens new tab and others of causing consumers to overpay for eBooks.
U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods in Manhattan accepted a recommendation from a U.S. magistrate last year that the case be narrowed to include, for now, only two plaintiffs who purchased eBooks directly from Amazon.
The judge completely dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims against Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishing Group, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, finding that the plaintiffs had not shown a conspiracy between Amazon and the book publishers.
The plaintiffs alleged Amazon and the book publishers restricted competition on price through what the complaint called “coercive contractual terms,” leading to higher eBook prices. The lawsuit said Amazon curbed the ability of publishers sell eBooks for lower prices on non-Amazon platforms.
The judge on Monday allowed the plaintiffs’ monopolization claims to proceed against Amazon alone.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and a lawyer for the plaintiffs had no immediate comment. The publishers also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
. . . .
Woods’ ruling dismissed claims by 13 individual consumers who purchased eBooks through Amazon competitors including Apple, Google and Barnes & Noble. The “indirect” purchasers have no legal standing to support their antitrust allegations, the court said.
. . . .
In one case, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission last year accused Amazon of operating an illegal monopoly that curbs merchants from offering better deals on other platforms. A trial is scheduled for 2026. Amazon has denied the claims.
Link to the rest at Reuters