Amazon class action claims company destroyed documents in price-gouging suit

Amazon class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Amazon shoppers filed a motion for sanctions against the retail giant.
• Why: The consumers claim Amazon destroyed documents relevant to the class action lawsuit alleging the company price gouged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Where: The Amazon class action motion was filed in Washington federal court.

ArA group of consumers claim Amazon destroyed documents relevant to their class action lawsuit alleging the e-commerce giant price gouged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The consumers filed a motion for sanctions against Amazon on Dec. 8 in Washington federal court, arguing the company destroyed an “untold number of documents” crucial to their proposed class action.

The motion claims Amazon failed to inform employees for months or even years of the need to preserve pricing-related records dating back to April 2020, leading to the purging of records “critical to the litigation of this case.”

“We will never know the full extent of what was destroyed, and that alone is prejudicial and a basis for spoliation sanctions,” the consumers say in the motion.

U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik granted a motion in September compelling Amazon to produce documents from employees who were central to the company’s effort to handle price issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the class action lawsuit.

The judge reportedly noted at the time that Amazon waited nearly six months after the complaint was filed to notify any employees of the need to preserve pricing records related to the case.

Amazon’s failure to preserve pricing information gives the company an unfair advantage, consumers claim

The motion claims a number of key employees have “virtually no documents, emails or messages for the critical period.”

Amazon’s inability to provide pricing information gives the company an unfair advantage, the consumers argue in their motion for sanctions.

The consumers are seeking to prevent Amazon from introducing “cherry-picked” evidence from employees indicating they were not required to preserve records.

They also want Amazon barred from calling witnesses to discuss events if the company deleted documents that could refute the witnesses’ claims, according to the motion.

The Amazon class action lawsuit was filed in 2020 and alleges the company illegally raised prices on some basic items by more than 1,000% during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What do you think of the allegations made in this Amazon class action motion? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Steve W. Berman, Dana Abelson, Ben Harrington, Benjamin J. Siegel and John Michael Grant of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.

The Amazon class action lawsuit is Greenberg, et al. v. Amazon.com Inc., Case No. 2:21-cv-00898, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

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