A university teacher named Christine Riefa tried to sue Apple and Amazon on behalf of millions of British shoppers. She claimed these big companies were working together to keep other sellers off Amazon’s website, which might have made Apple products more expensive.
The lawsuit was asking for a lot of money – about $600 million. That’s because it was meant to represent about 36 million people who bought Apple or Beats products in the UK.
Riefa said that in 2018, Apple and Amazon made a deal to kick most other sellers of Apple products off Amazon’s UK website. This, she argued, meant less competition and, hence, higher prices for customers.
But the court didn’t let the case go forward. They said Riefa wasn’t the right person to represent all these millions of shoppers. The court was worried about how the lawsuit was being paid for and if Riefa could really stand up for everyone involved.
This decision is a bit unusual because usually, it’s not too hard to get these big group lawsuits started. But in this case, the court stopped it before it really began.
Apple and Amazon said all along that the lawsuit was wrong, and now this round has been dismissed. Neither Apple, Amazon, nor Riefa’s legal team have provided immediate comments on the tribunal’s decision.
While this specific case has been dismissed, it reflects the broader trend of legal and regulatory challenges facing large technology firms across various jurisdictions.
More here.
