Judge Dismisses Netflix DVD Monopoly Class Action Lawsuit

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Netflix has managed to convince a federal judge to dismiss a class action lawsuit claiming it conspired with Wal-Mart to illegally divide the DVD rental and sales market in order to push out competitors. The announcement comes just weeks after consumers began receiving class action settlement notices for Wal-Mart’s $27.25 million settlement in the case, which was reached last year.

Plaintiffs alleged in the Netflix monopoly class action lawsuit that Wal-Mart and Netflix’s alleged conspiracy “enabled Netflix to charge its customers higher subscription prices for the rental of DVDs than it otherwise would have. As a result of their contract, combination, and conspiracy, as well as Netflix’s unlawfully acquired and maintained market and monopoly power, Netflix actually did overcharge Plaintiff, and millions of other consumers similarly situated, and continues to do so,” stated the class action lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton found that the Plaintiffs could not prove that Netflix had conspired with Wal-Mart by agreeing not to sell DVDs in exchange for Wal-Mart agreeing not to enter the online rental market. Hamilton also found that there was no evidence that Netflix would have lowered its prices without the agreement with Wal-Mart. As such, she granted the Netflix’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case against it.

The dismissal is a blow to consumers, who would have received between $493 million and $654 million if a settlement had been reached, but they don’t walk away empty handed. The $27.25 million Wal-Mart DVD class action settlement will provide a cash payment or gift card to consumers who subscribed to Netflix between May 19, 2005 and September 2, 2011.

Details on how to file a claim for the Wal-Mart DVD Class Action Settlement can be found at www.OnlineDVDClass.com.