The state sued Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) on Wednesday, alleging that the online retail giant’s contracts with third-party sellers and wholesalers inflate prices and stifle competition, violating California antitrust and wholesalers, the California attorney general said. Unfair Competition Law.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that his office has filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court to try to block Amazon’s policies that he says prevent merchants from offering lower prices through rival sites.
According to a copy seen by The Wall Street Journal, the lawsuit asks the court to stop Amazon from continuing to implement the policies and to appoint an ombudsman to ensure the company complies with the rules. The lawsuit also seeks an unspecified amount of damages for damage to California’s economy and a $2,500 fine for each violation of the state’s civil and professional code proven at trial.
The lawsuit is Amazon’s biggest legal challenge yet in the U.S., following the company was previously sued by the District of Columbia and is now under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the European Union and a congressional committee.
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