Washington, DC's lawsuit against Amazon has been reinstated, reversing an earlier decision by a federal appeals court that had thrown out the case, which alleged that Amazon was impeding competition in MarketPerth

The ruling came more than two years after the lawsuit was dismissed by the Superior Court The lawsuit was initially filed in 2021

Amazon spokesman Tim Doyle told Tom's Guide that the company disagrees with the court's ruling and looks forward to “presenting facts in court that show how good these policies are for consumers”

“Like other store owners who don't want to advertise bad deals to their customers, we don't highlight or promote offers that are not competitively priced,” Doyle said

Current DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb issued a statement to Reuters congratulating the court's ruling

“We will continue to fight to stop Amazon's unfair and illegal practices that have driven up prices for District consumers and stifled innovation and choice across online retail,” Schwalb said

The first antitrust lawsuit against Amazon alleged that the consumer giant stifled competition in the marketplace, a section of Amazon's platform that allows third-party companies and individuals to sell products

The lawsuit alleged that Amazon is making unreasonable demands on third-party sellers This includes restricting sellers from offering their products at lower prices in non-Amazon marketplaces Amazon essentially claims that it prohibits third-party sellers from offering the same products elsewhere and, in those cases, refuses to highlight their listings

Carl Racine, then DC Attorney General, argued in his initial court filing that such a requirement would result in a loss of competition and innovation

The application stated: “Amazon's online retail sales platform benefits from and is protected by Amazon's anticompetitive business practices Rather than ensuring that consumers have access to the best products at the lowest prices, Amazon has caused prices in the entire online retail sales market to be artificially inflated, both for products sold on Amazon's online retail sales platform and on competitors' online retail sales platforms

Racine is seeking structural relief, which could force Amazon to change its third-party seller rules and end price restrictions

The DC Court of Appeals said the 2023 Superior Court judge set the bar too high in dismissing the original case and that the Attorney General had a plausible claim

This is not the only lawsuit Amazon faces regarding its marketplace The Federal Trade Commission and 12 states are pursuing another antitrust lawsuit, claiming that Amazon is a monopolist whose anticompetitive practices stifle competition Amazon is now seeking dismissal of this lawsuit Barring the outcome of this lawsuit and this dismissal, this lawsuit may also move forward

Amazon recently lost a lawsuit that held it liable for selling harmful third-party products, forcing it to recall more than 400,000 items