Amazon Hit with Fresh Class Action-Style Suit in UK — $3.4BN in Competition Damages Sought for 200,000+ Sellers
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A new lawsuit has been filed against Amazon in the UK, seeking over £2.7 billion in damages (approximately $3.4 billion) for alleged anti-competitive practices. The claim, filed by Andreas Stephan, a professor of competition law at the University of East Anglia, represents over 200,000 UK third-party sellers on Amazon.
The lawsuit alleges that Amazon has misused its dominant market position to unfairly favor its own retail offerings over those of third-party sellers. Specifically, the claim cites Amazon's logistics services (Fulfilled by Amazon, or FBA) and its Membership product, Prime, as examples of anti-competitive practices.
The claim also argues that Amazon distorts inter-platform competition by making it harder for third-party sellers to sell cheaper on other platforms. As a result, third-party sellers have lost sales, faced increased costs, and paid higher fees to Amazon for its services than they would have under normal conditions of competition.
This lawsuit is the latest in a series of competition-related legal actions against Amazon. The company has faced similar antitrust charges in the US and has already settled EU antitrust probes in December 2022 and UK probes in November 2023, agreeing to make changes to its marketplace practices without receiving financial penalties.
In this case, the lawsuit is being funded by Innsworth Capital Limited, a litigation funder that has backed similar opt-out collective action lawsuits against tech giants in the UK and Europe. If the claim is successful, any compensation or settlement payment made by Amazon will be shared between the affected sellers and Innsworth Capital.
Amazon was approached for comment on the lawsuit but had not responded at the time of writing.
The lawsuit is an opt-out collective action, meaning that eligible sellers are automatically included unless they choose to opt out. To be eligible, sellers must have used a professional account to sell to UK consumers on Amazon between June 2018 and June 2024. More information about the legal action and a form to register for updates can be found on the claim website: https://www.amazon3psellerclaim.com.
This is not the first class action-style legal action against Amazon in the UK related to competition abuse claims. Earlier this month, a similar damages suit was filed by the British Independent Retailers Association on behalf of its thousands of members, seeking £1.1 billion in compensation.
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