•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Amazon said Monday (April 20) that it looks forward to responding in court to a motion filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta as part of an antitrust lawsuit launched in 2022. In a statement emailed to PYMNTS, an Amazon spokesperson said the motion is intended to “distract from the weakness of its case,” noting it comes more than three years after Bonta filed his complaint and relies on evidence the company said has been available for years.
Bonta said in a press release issued by the California Department of Justice that evidence released publicly and largely unredacted Monday describes how Amazon pressures vendors and competitors to increase prices so they are not lower than Amazon’s. Bonta said the evidence is included in a filing he made in support of a request for a preliminary injunction, which asks a court to halt what he called Amazon’s illegal conduct while the lawsuit is ongoing.
“The company is price fixing, colluding with vendors and other retailers to raise costs for Americans beyond what the market requires — beyond what is fair,” Bonta said in the release. He added: “Amid a crisis of affordability, Amazon is illegally working to rake in profits by making sure consumers have nowhere else to turn to for lower prices.”
According to the California Department of Justice press release, Amazon caused price increases for consumers through three alleged illegal schemes, including:
The department said these practices span years and product lines.
In its Monday statement, Amazon said: “Amazon is consistently identified as America’s lowest-priced online retailer, and we’re proud of the low prices customers find when shopping in our store. Amazon looks forward to responding in court at the appropriate time.”
Bonta filed the antitrust lawsuit in September 2022. Earlier reporting said that on April 16, a California court ruled that key factual disputes must be resolved before the case can proceed, denying Amazon an early victory.
According to Monday’s press release, a hearing on California’s preliminary injunction motion is scheduled for July, and the case is set to go to trial in January 2027.
Premium gym chains are entering a “golden era” that is ending or already in decline, as rising operating costs collide with shifting consumer preferences toward more flexible, community-based ways to exercise. Long-term memberships are shrinking, margins are pressured by higher rents and facility expenses, and competition from smaller, more personalized…
