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The U.S. consumer agency, which enforces federal antitrust law, and 17 states filed their lawsuit against Amazon in Seattle federal court on Tuesday, asking a U.S. judge to consider an injunction and other penalties to combat alleged unlawful conduct. The FTC's lawsuit is related to but broader than a series of private consumer cases filed in recent years against Amazon that are pending in the same U.S. federal court. The private antitrust cases offer an early window into some of the legal arguments Amazon could be expected to make to challenge the FTC's lawsuit. Generally speaking, U.S. judges are "wary of using antitrust law to punish low-pricing behavior," said antitrust scholar Sean Sullivan of the University of Iowa's law school. Sullivan said it is not always a clear line between "good low pricing" — based on market competition — and "bad low pricing" that helps a company acquire or maintain market power.

Persons: Mike Segar, David Balto, Diane Hazel, Foley, Lardner, Hazel, Tom Cotter, David Zapolsky, Zapolsky, Lina Khan, Ricardo Martinez, Martinez, George W, Bush, Sean Sullivan, Sullivan, Mike Scarcella, Leigh Jones Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Federal Trade, Amazon.com, Amazon, Reuters, FTC, U.S, University of Minnesota Law School, District, University of, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, Seattle, Washington, Mt, Rainier

☆ Judge assigned to US antitrust case against Amazon recuses himself
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

The judge assigned to the US Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon.com has recused himself from the case, according to a court document filed on Wednesday. Senior Judge John Coughenour was assigned to the case on Tuesday, when the antitrust lawsuit was filed against Amazon in federal court in Seattle. Coughenour, an appointee of Republican former President Ronald Reagan, did not cite a reason for dropping off the case in the court filing. The case has been re-assigned to US District Judge John Chun based on rotation, according to the document. Amazon is facing a series of similar but smaller private consumer cases filed in recent years that are pending in the same US federal court with Judge Ricardo Martinez and the FTC has argued its case should be assigned to the same judge to avoid duplication or conflict.

Persons: John Coughenour, Ronald Reagan, John Chun, Chun, Joe Biden, Judge Ricardo Martinez Organizations: US Federal Trade, Amazon.com, Amazon, Republican, US, Washington, Court of Appeals, FTC Locations: Seattle

☆ Amazon.com faces an array of US consumer, state antitrust lawsuits
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Mike Scarcella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

In the California case, Judge Ethan Schulman in San Francisco Superior Court in March ruled against Amazon's bid to dismiss the lawsuit. CONSUMERS' PRICE INFLATION CLAIMSAmazon faces a pair of consumer lawsuits in Seattle federal court. The consumer plaintiffs, Chun wrote, "allege the type of conduct that antitrust law is intended to prevent." E-BOOKSIn Manhattan federal court, a prospective class action from consumers accuses Amazon of artificially inflating the price of retail trade e-books on the site. U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods has not yet ruled on objections from Amazon and the plaintiffs to Figueredo's report and recommendation.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Rob Bonta, Ethan Schulman, Amazon's, Schulman, Richard Jones, Jones, John Chun, —, Chun, Ricardo Martinez, Valerie Figueredo, Gregory Woods, Mike Scarcella, Chris Sanders, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Amazon.com, Big Tech, FTC, GENERAL, District of Columbia, Walmart, Costco, Amazon, San Francisco Superior Court, District, U.S, Thomson Locations: Bretigny, Paris, France, CALIFORNIA, WASHINGTON, GENERAL California, District, Washington ,, California, Columbia, San Francisco, Seattle, U.S, Maryland, Manhattan, Washington

The prospective class action complaint, filed in 2021 by two members of the annual paid subscription service Amazon Prime, alleged Amazon was unlawfully "tying" the online sale of third-party products to the use of the company's "Fulfillment by Amazon" program. The lawsuit said Amazon's alleged anticompetitive fulfillment practices had harmed "hundreds of millions of its loyal customers." Amazon's attorneys argued that fulfillment services are sold not to consumers who buy products but to third-party businesses that are selling goods on the company's platform. The antitrust case against Amazon was among private and state actions alleging violations of competition law. The case is Angela Hogan et al v. Amazon.com Inc, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, No.

Last year, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, the Human Rights Campaign, labeled 2021 the “worst year” for LGBTQ rights in modern U.S. history, citing a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures across the country. “The LGBTQ+ community is really under siege right now,” said Ricardo Martinez, CEO of LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Texas. One bill that was successfully implemented, and gained national headlines for months, was Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, or what critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The word “grooming” has long been associated with mischaracterizing LGBTQ people, particularly gay men and transgender women, as child sex abusers. Those losses came after some conservative groups ramped up misleading or inflammatory campaign ads targeting transgender rights.

☆ Berkshire's Brooks running unit settles trademark case against Brooks Brothers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Carlo AllegriOct 26 (Reuters) - Brooks, the running shoe unit of billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), has settled a lawsuit accusing the retailer Brooks Brothers of diluting its reputation and confusing customers by marketing athletic wear with the "Brooks" name, but without "Brothers." It objected last year to Brooks Brothers' launch of "faux" athletic wear, saying it threatened to "demoralize" consumers who associate the Brooks name with high-quality athletic wear, and to Brooks Brothers' "Back to Brooks" marketing campaign. Brooks Brothers countered that the lawsuit was an "ill-conceived ploy" to evade the coexistence agreement, and demanded Brooks' compliance. Founded in 1818, Brooks Brothers is the oldest continually-operating U.S. clothing retailer. The case is Brooks Sports Inc v SPARC Group LLC, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, No.

☆ Meet Matt Krause, the man who critics say helped make Texas a national leader in book bans
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Texas now has the highest number of book bans in the US. Texas is now a leader in book bans, and one influential politician — along with pressure from the GOP — may have been the driving force, a Houston Chronicle investigation found. By April 2022, a PEN America analysis found that Texas had 713 bans, nearly half of all book bans in the US. Some politicians and parent groups disagreed with the inquiryKrause denies any political motivations behind the book list, but critics disagree. For Foote, the book bans represent GOP political motivations, citing school board officials and lawmakers who have begun their own book challenges.

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