AG Asks DC Court to Reconsider Dismissing Amazon Antitrust Case

The D.C. Superior Court should reconsider dismissing an antitrust complaint against Amazon, said D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine (D) Thursday in case 2021 CA 001775 B. Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo orally dismissed Racine’s complaint at a hearing last month (see 2203210046). Racine asked the court to reconsider or, alternatively, allow D.C. to amend its complaint or receive a written decision. The court “erred by “misinterpreting and misapplying the plausibility standard” from the 2007 case Bell Atlantic v. Twombly and 2009’s Ashcroft v. Iqbal, “ignoring or failing to accept as true detailed factual allegations in the complaint,” and “incorrectly applying Twombly and Iqbal where there was direct evidence of agreement,” wrote Racine. The AG added a proposed amended complaint adding more allegations about anticompetitive effects from Amazon allegedly artificially inflating consumer prices through restrictive contract provisions and agreements. Amazon didn’t comment.