Latest news with #RobertHammond
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon UK to battle $5.4bn in lawsuits from retailers and consumers
The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has authorised two lawsuits from retailers and consumers against online e-commerce giant Amazon for allegedly abusing its market dominance. Both lawsuits allege that Amazon violated Section 18 of the UK's Competition Act 1998 in actions before 31 December 2020, and Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The proposed class representatives are seeking potential collective damages totalling up to £4bn ($5.4bn) for affected parties, as reported by Reuters. The tribunal has given permission for these cases to proceed as opt-out collective actions. Andreas Stephan, a professor of competition law, is heading one lawsuit on behalf of more than 200,000 third-party sellers. This claim seeks damages of up to £2.7bn. Stephan's legal team accuses Amazon of rigging its "Buy Box" feature to preferentially highlight products that use Amazon's logistics and delivery services. The suit claims that the criteria used by Amazon to select which offers appear in the Buy Box are opaque and biased toward listings that employ Amazon's fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) service over those that use fulfilment by merchant (FBM). It also alleges discriminatory practices in how delivery promises are adjusted for FBM products. In a separate action, consumer advocate Robert Hammond is representing millions of Amazon customers in a lawsuit seeking up to £1.3bn. This case similarly accuses Amazon of anti-competitive behaviour. An Amazon spokesperson was quoted by the news agency: "These claims are without merit and we're confident that will become clear through the legal process. "Amazon has always focused on supporting the 100,000 businesses that sell their products on our UK store, and more than half of all physical product sales on our UK store are from independent selling partners." The legal challenges come amidst regulatory investigations and decisions by competition authorities concerning aspects of Amazon's operations and conduct within its national marketplaces. In January 2025, the retailer was accused of unlawful data tracking of its consumers in the US state of California. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Amazon in 2023 for using 'manipulative tactics and deceptive user-interface designs' to enrol consumers in Prime subscriptions. "Amazon UK to battle $5.4bn in lawsuits from retailers and consumers" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Amazon (AMZN) Facing the Battle of Britain in $5B Competition Lawsuits
U.S. tech giant Amazon (AMZN) is facing lawsuits worth $5.4 billion from U.K. shoppers and retailers. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. A London tribunal ruled today that the two separate cases against Amazon for allegedly abusing its dominant position can proceed. Despite the threat, however, its stock rose nearly 2%. Retailers Claim Andreas Stephan, a competition law academic, is bringing one of the cases on behalf of over 200,000 third-party retailers, worth up to £2.7 billion. His lawyers allege that Amazon manipulates the 'Buy Box' feature on its website to its own advantage and favors products that use Amazon's own logistics centers and delivery network. Shoppers will know Buy Box through the 'Add to Cart' and 'Buy Now' section on a product page where purchases can be made. A seller's offer is featured as the default choice, and winning it can significantly boost visibility and sales. It is understood that 80% of Amazon sales are made through the Buy Box. According to Amazon, it can help customers find what they need and compare alternatives for a product by price, condition, and shipping speed. 49 Million Brits Consumer advocate Robert Hammond is separately bringing a case valued at up to £1.3 billion. It is being made on behalf of 49.4 million UK consumers. He has accused Amazon of manipulating how it presents products to customers and suppressing competition in its marketplace. An Amazon spokesperson said: 'These claims are without merit and we're confident that will become clear through the legal process. Amazon has always focused on supporting the 100,000 businesses that sell their products on our UK store, and more than half of all physical product sales on our UK store are from independent selling partners.' Legal and regulatory issues, as can be seen below, are also a key risk for Amazon and its investors. That is becoming even more prominent for it, and U.S. rivals such as Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet (GOOGL) as British and European regulators crack down on their business models. Is AMZN a Good Stock to Buy Now? On TipRanks, AMZN has a Strong Buy consensus based on 44 Buy and 1 Hold ratings. Its consensus price target is $258.15, implying an 11.18% upside.
Business Wire
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal Certifies Class of Amazon Customers in £1.3B+ Antitrust Buy Box Case
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Solicitors at Hagens Berman EMEA LLP representing millions of Amazon customers alleging the tech giant Amazon abused its market dominance today celebrated along with its co-counsel law firm Charles Lyndon Limited a major victory in the case as London's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) performing its gatekeeper role unanimously decided to certify the case, brought by these firms, allowing it to proceed to the next stage. 'Achieving class certification in the UK is no easy hurdle, and often it is not yet readily granted in competition cases.' 'We are incredibly pleased with the Tribunal's decision in this matter and recognise how monumental this is for millions of Amazon customers in the UK who we believe have been forced to pay higher prices directly due to Amazon's actions,' said Steve Berman of Hagens Berman EMEA. 'Achieving class certification in the UK is no easy hurdle, and often it is not yet readily granted in competition cases.' The 61-page 24 July 24 2025, judgment responds to two pending actions against Amazon, one from Hagens Berman EMEA's client, consumer advocate and class representative, Robert Hammond, and one from Professor Andreas Stephan represented separately seeking claims on behalf of more than 200,000 third-party retailers. Both however allege that Amazon uses its algorithm to rank search results in favor of products that are more profitable for the company in its online marketplace, causing millions of consumers to pay artificially inflated prices. Robert Hammond's case is valued in the billions of British pounds and comes backed with Hagens Berman's parent law firms' history, pedigree, and expertise of US antitrust litigation against Amazon. With today's unanimous act of the CAT certifying the claim, they also certified Robert Hammond was suitable to act as the class representative, in his case against Amazon, on behalf of all British consumers on an opt-out basis, meaning class members will be automatically included as part of the case unless they choose to exclude themselves. If you are domiciled within the UK and purchased a product on between October 2015 and June 7, 2023, find out your rights. Hagens Berman EMEA is affiliated with Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, a US based law firm currently pursuing 12 antitrust, price-fixing and price gouging allegations against Amazon. Robert Hammond is supported by a deep bench which also includes co-counsel Charles Lyndon Limited, Philip Moser KC and Ben Rayment, at Monckton Chambers, economic experts Fideres and Four World Capital who are the funders for the case. 'We look forward to continuing to fight for UK consumers and their right to demand transparency from Amazon,' said Sergei Purewal, Hagens Berman EMEA solicitor leading the case. 'While Amazon may believe it is too big to fail, we see that very mindset as evidence that it has abused its market dominance to the detriment of millions of its own UK consumers.' About the Claim Against Amazon According to the claim, filed on June 7, 2023, Amazon uses a proprietary algorithm to rank product offer results when consumers search for products in its Marketplace. The first-ranked item in the search results typically appears in the 'Buy Box,' allowing consumers to purchase the product with one click without choosing between competing sellers or retail offerings. By choosing the purchase option in the Buy Box, the consumer buys from whichever seller Amazon's algorithm determines to be the Buy Box winner. According to the firms' investigation, overwhelmingly—about 80% of the time—consumers accept Amazon's recommendation and purchase through the Buy Box due to its efficient design. The claim alleges that the algorithm steers consumers towards product offerings that are more profitable for Amazon while obscuring other, often more affordable options, thus dampening price and quality competition among sellers and causing consumers to pay artificially inflated rates. 'The CMA considered that: the process of selection may unfairly favour products that are FBA [fulfilment by Amazon] over products that are FBM [fulfilment by merchant]. The CMA was concerned that any bias or discrimination in the selection process may reduce competition between sellers on the UK Amazon Marketplace and/or reduce the scale and competitiveness of fulfilment service providers that serve merchants on the UK Amazon Marketplace,' the CAT said in its judgment, citing concern that Amazon's actions may 'disadvantage merchants' and 'lead to higher prices for consumer by way of passing on of higher fulfilment costs.' In discussing the two claims' experts' findings and claims the CAT wrote, 'In either case (or in reality some combination of the two) consumers who bought from sellers supplying FBA would have paid less for the same purchase by either buying from a lower priced alternative (FBM) supplier or from the same supplier at a lower price.' Find out more about Hagens Berman EMEA's proposed collective action against Amazon regarding its Buy Box algorithm. About Hagens Berman Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with nine offices across the U.S. Hagens Berman EMEA LLP is headquartered in London and regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The firm's tenacious drive for plaintiffs' rights has earned it numerous accolades, awards and titles of 'Most Feared Plaintiff's Firm,' and MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. Hagens Berman's track record spans many practice areas, with record-breaking settlements and victories in the areas of automotive litigation, securities, consumer-rights cases, pension protection and more. Some of the firm's highlights include State Tobacco Litigation ($206 billion settlement), Visa MasterCard ATM Antitrust Litigation ($27 billion settlement), Toyota Sudden, Unintended Acceleration ($1.6 billion settlement), E-books Antitrust Litigation ($560 million settlement), Enron Pension Protection Litigation ($250 million settlement), Charles Schwab Securities Litigation ($235 million settlement), NCAA Grant-in-Aid Scholarships Litigation ($208 million settlement), as well as many other record-setting achievements. About Charles Lyndon Charles Lyndon is a litigation firm based in London. Their specialist litigation lawyers are experienced in representing claimants in high profile claims before the Competition Appeal Tribunal. They have acted in a broad range of collective action and competition law cases and are at the forefront of the collective proceedings regime. In February 2019, Charles Lyndon brought the first stand-alone collective action in the Tribunal on behalf of millions of passengers who have paid twice for part of their train journeys.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon faces UK lawsuits worth up to $5.4 billion from retailers, consumers
LONDON (Reuters) -Amazon faces two mass lawsuits from retailers and consumers worth up to 4 billion pounds ($5.4 billion) for allegedly abusing its dominant position, after a London tribunal on Thursday certified the cases could proceed. Andreas Stephan, a competition law academic, is bringing one of the cases on behalf of over 200,000 third-party retailers, worth up to 2.7 billion pounds. His lawyers allege that Amazon manipulates the "Buy Box" feature on its website to its own advantage and favours products that use Amazon's own logistics centres and delivery network. Consumer advocate Robert Hammond is separately bringing a case valued at up to 1.3 billion pounds on behalf of millions of Amazon customers for similar alleged abuses of dominance. Amazon argued that the Competition Appeal Tribunal should certify the cases to proceed, an early step in the proceedings, including because the economic methodology for proving the cases was flawed. But the tribunal certified both cases on an opt-out basis, meaning members of the claimant class will be part of the case unless they decide otherwise. An Amazon spokesperson said: "These claims are without merit and we're confident that will become clear through the legal process. "Amazon has always focused on supporting the 100,000 businesses that sell their products on our UK store, and more than half of all physical product sales on our UK store are from independent selling partners." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Amazon faces UK lawsuits worth up to $5.4 bln from retailers, consumers
LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab faces two mass lawsuits from retailers and consumers worth up to 4 billion pounds ($5.4 billion) for allegedly abusing its dominant position, after a London tribunal on Thursday certified the cases could proceed. Andreas Stephan, a competition law academic, is bringing one of the cases on behalf of over 200,000 third-party retailers, worth up to 2.7 billion pounds. His lawyers allege that Amazon manipulates the "Buy Box" feature on its website to its own advantage and favours products that use Amazon's own logistics centres and delivery network. Consumer advocate Robert Hammond is separately bringing a case valued at up to 1.3 billion pounds on behalf of millions of Amazon customers for similar alleged abuses of dominance. Amazon argued that the Competition Appeal Tribunal should certify the cases to proceed, an early step in the proceedings, including because the economic methodology for proving the cases was flawed. But the tribunal certified both cases on an opt-out basis, meaning members of the claimant class will be part of the case unless they decide otherwise. An Amazon spokesperson said: "These claims are without merit and we're confident that will become clear through the legal process. "Amazon has always focused on supporting the 100,000 businesses that sell their products on our UK store, and more than half of all physical product sales on our UK store are from independent selling partners."
