A UK court has allowed part of the lawsuit against Apple and Amazon to proceed

The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal on Monday allowed part of a consumer claim to proceed. The case concerns Apple and Amazon, who are accused of restricting competition in the sale of Apple products on the British Amazon Marketplace.

According to the claim, in 2018 Apple and Amazon reached an agreement under which only select sellers retained the right to sell Apple and Beats-branded products on Amazon's UK website. The claimant argues that this reduced competition and drove up prices.

The tribunal, composed of three judges, allowed the case to proceed only with respect to claims related to Apple products purchased through Amazon Marketplace. At the same time, it rejected the broader claim, which also covered products purchased from Apple's official stores and other retailers.

The claimant estimates that the value of the permitted portion of the case, including interest, amounts to £289–306 million (approximately $383 million).

According to Judge Kelyn Bacon, the claims related to purchases made on Amazon Marketplace are "arguable, plausible and grounded in fact." However, the tribunal rejected the claims concerning other retailers, as they relied on a "complex and speculative theory" of harm.

Last year, the tribunal declined to allow a similar claim to proceed. That case was brought by consumer law academic Christine Riefa, but the court had concerns both about the candidate for class representative and about the terms of the litigation funding arrangement.

The claim was later refiled by Justin Le Patourel, who replaced Riefa as the proposed class representative.

Per the tribunal's ruling, there is a real basis for establishing that the restrictions imposed on resellers may have led to price increases for buyers of Apple products on Amazon Marketplace. However, at this stage there is insufficient evidence to confirm that the alleged conduct also drove up prices at Apple's own stores and other retailers.