On March 17, a U.S. judge in Seattle dismissed a lawsuit that accused Amazon.com of deceiving shareholders regarding its treatment of third-party sellers and expansion plans. The dismissal by U.S. District Judge John Chun was made with prejudice, meaning the case cannot be reopened.
The shareholders alleged that Amazon hid an algorithm to favor its own products, increasing consumer prices and concealing excessive infrastructure expansion. However, the judge found insufficient evidence to suggest that Amazon executives knowingly misrepresented the company's practices or engaged in aggressive expansion tactics.
The litigation also claimed that former CEO Jeff Bezos and current CEO Andy Jassy intended to deceive shareholders by presenting Amazon's success in a positive light. Judge Chun's analysis proposed that Amazon's focus was on maximizing profits rather than deliberate fraud.
Separately, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) initiated an antitrust case against Amazon in September 2023, alleging the exploitation of market dominance to prevent competitors from lowering prices. The lawsuit, joined by 18 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, is set for trial in October 2026 before Judge Chun.
The shareholder lawsuit pertained to Amazon investors from February 1, 2019, to April 28, 2022, and is known as Joyce v Amazon.com Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, No. 22-00617.