Apple and Amazon face a revived UK consumer lawsuit worth up to £306 million after the Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled on 28 September that claims over Apple products sold through Amazon’s marketplace can proceed.

The lawsuit alleges the companies reached an agreement in 2018 that restricted which third-party sellers could offer Apple and Beats products on Amazon’s UK website, reducing competition and increasing prices for consumers.

The tribunal allowed claims covering Apple and Beats products bought through Amazon’s marketplace to proceed, while rejecting a broader part of the case concerning products purchased directly from Apple and other retailers. The claimant estimates the permitted claim could be worth between £289 million and £306 million, including interest.

Judge Kelyn Bacon said the marketplace claims were “plausible, credible and grounded in the facts”, according to Reuters, while the wider claims were rejected because they relied on a “complex and speculative theory of harm”.

Apple strongly disputed the allegations, with a spokesperson saying the agreement with Amazon was intended to tackle counterfeit products being sold through its marketplace. Amazon said the remaining claim was “without merit” and that it was confident this would become clear as the legal process continued.

The tribunal found there was a realistic basis for arguing that restrictions on resellers could have resulted in higher prices for consumers buying Apple products through Amazon. However, it said there was insufficient evidence at this stage to establish that the alleged conduct had increased prices for products sold through Apple’s own stores or other retailers.

The case was refiled by consumer representative Justin Le Patourel after an earlier version brought by consumer law academic Christine Riefa was rejected by the tribunal last year. That decision raised concerns about the proposed class representative and the funding arrangements for the litigation.

Le Patourel’s spokesperson welcomed the decision to allow the marketplace claims to continue, while expressing disappointment that other parts of the case were not certified. The ruling does not establish that Apple or Amazon breached competition law, with the permitted claims now able to proceed through the legal process.

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