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In his ruling, US District Judge John Coughenour rejected
bids from Apple and Amazon to dismiss the prospective class action on various
legal grounds.
Coughenour said the "validity" of the relevant
market, a central issue in antitrust litigation, was a question for a jury.
The lawsuit, filed in November, is among several private and
government actions challenging Amazon's online price practices. Coughenour's
ruling means the case will move forward to evidence-gathering and other
pretrial proceedings.
Lawyers for Apple and Amazon and representatives for the
companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.
Steve Berman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, called the
court's ruling "a major win for consumers of Apple phones and iPads."
The plaintiffs are US residents who bought new iPhones and
iPads on Amazon beginning in January 2019. They contend an agreement between
Apple and Amazon that went into effect that year restricted the number of
competitive resellers in violation of antitrust provisions.
In 2018, according to the lawsuit, there were some 600
third-party Apple resellers on Amazon. Apple agreed to give Amazon a discount
on its products if Amazon reduced the number of Apple resellers from its
marketplace, the lawsuit alleged.
Apple has argued that its agreement with Amazon limited the
number of authorized resellers to help minimize counterfeit Apple goods being
sold on the e-commerce platform.
In a court filing, Apple's attorneys called the agreement
"commonplace" and said the "Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit have
routinely recognized that such agreements are procompetitive and lawful."
The judge in Seattle said "countervailing"
motivations for the agreement between Apple and Amazon would be addressed later
in the litigation.
Apple recorded $94.8 billion in sales in the second quarter,
and Amazon reported $127.4 billion in its most recent quarterly earnings
report.
The complaint seeks unspecified triple damages and other
relief. © Reuters