Amazon class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: A Washington federal judge dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc. and Audible Inc.
- Why: The plaintiff alleged Amazon automatically enrolled her in an Audible membership without her knowledge after she redeemed Amazon digital rewards for an audiobook.
- Where: The proposed class action lawsuit was dismissed in Washington federal court.
Amazon and its subsidiary Audible won summary judgment in a proposed class action alleging the companies deceptively enrolled consumers in paid Audible memberships after they obtained free audiobooks through Amazon.
U.S. District Judge John H. Chun dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, finding the plaintiff failed to produce evidence supporting the central theory of her claims.
Plaintiff Julia Heck alleged Amazon enrolled her in an Audible free trial without her knowledge or permission after she used digital rewards earned through Amazon’s No-Rush Shipping program to obtain an audiobook for free. According to her complaint, Audible later charged her credit card because the membership automatically renewed.
The lawsuit asserted claims under California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law, alleging Amazon and Audible failed to disclose that obtaining the audiobook would result in enrollment in a recurring subscription.
However, the court concluded the evidence showed Heck’s alleged transaction could not have occurred.
“The evidence shows there is no capacity to redeem Audible titles or begin an Audible subscription using the digital rewards resulting from No-Rush Shipping,” Judge Chun wrote in the dismissal order.
As a result, the court found the companies could not have omitted or misrepresented information about using those rewards to acquire Audible titles.
The judge also found there was no evidence Heck had ever used Amazon’s No-Rush Shipping option. According to the order, Heck testified during her deposition that she was unfamiliar with the program and could not recall ever selecting it, while Amazon’s records showed she never chose the shipping option.
Court rejects consumer claims as deceptive
Heck argued that a reasonable consumer could have been misled by Amazon’s “Try for $0.00” button displayed on audiobook listings.
The court rejected that argument, finding the plaintiff’s complaint was based on an entirely different theory — that she unknowingly redeemed No-Rush Shipping rewards — not that the “Try for $0.00” offer itself was deceptive.
Judge Chun also noted Heck testified she could not recall using the “Try for $0.00” button.
In addition, the court rejected Heck’s reliance on evidence that other Audible users were allegedly enrolled without their knowledge, calling those statistics a “red herring.”
The Amazon class action order states that such evidence could not substitute for proof that the plaintiff herself relied on a specific misrepresentation and suffered damages as a result.
The court further determined that the undisputed evidence showed Audible’s disclosures regarding its automatically renewing free trial complied with California’s Automatic Renewal Law.
The order notes that Audible’s offers disclosed that memberships automatically renewed after the trial period at the applicable monthly price and could be canceled at any time.
Because the court found Heck could not establish the essential elements of her claims, it granted Amazon’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, preventing the claims from being refiled.
Earlier, Amazon agreed to pay $2.25 million to resolve claims it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by refusing or delaying requests from identity theft victims for records related to fraudulent transactions.
What do you think about the court’s decision in this Amazon and Audible lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.
Heck is represented by Kim D. Stephens and Rebecca L. Solomon of Tousley Brain Stephens PLLC and Sue J. Nam, Kate J. Stoia and Charles D. Moore of Reese LLP.
The proposed Amazon class action lawsuit is Heck v. Amazon.com Inc., et al., Case No. 2:23-cv-01219, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
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