Amazon Accused of Illegal Price-Fixing in Supplier Contracts (1)

Amazon.com Inc. customers filed a proposed class action claiming the online retail giant violates antitrust laws by requiring suppliers to guarantee both competitive pricing and minimum margin payments to the company, a complaint filed in Washington federal court shows.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the District of Washington, takes aim at the minimum margin agreements Amazon allegedly requires certain suppliers to sign. These agreements guarantee both that Amazon can price the supplier’s product competitively in most instances and that Amazon will receive a minimum margin from the supplier on each sale regardless of the actual ...