On June 8, 2023, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour allowed part of a consumer antitrust lawsuit against Apple and Amazon to continue, but the ruling was only a partial procedural win. The court rejected dismissal of the plaintiffs’ rule-of-reason claim while dismissing their per se theory with prejudice. The case did not produce a consumer payout or a finding of liability, and the court later dismissed the action on September 29, 2025.
The order came in Steven Floyd v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al., case C22-1599-JCC, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The June 8, 2023 order is available from the court docket.
What the judge decided in June 2023
| Issue | Result | Practical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Rule-of-reason antitrust claim | Motions to dismiss denied | The complaint could proceed past the pleading stage. |
| Per se antitrust theory | Dismissed with prejudice | Plaintiffs could not continue that legal theory in the case. |
| Liability or damages | Not decided | The order did not find a violation, award money, or certify a class. |
That distinction matters. Headlines saying the judge “rejected” Apple’s and Amazon’s bids to dismiss described the surviving claim, not a complete defeat for the companies. The order left one theory alive and permanently removed another.
What the lawsuit alleged
Steven Floyd sued individually and on behalf of a proposed nationwide consumer class under Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The complaint concerned purchases of new Apple iPhones and iPads offered through Amazon Marketplace.
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The challenged arrangement was Apple and Amazon’s Global Tenets Agreement, signed in 2018 and effective January 1, 2019. According to the allegations, the agreement limited which Apple-authorized or verified resellers could sell Apple products on Amazon Marketplace. Plaintiffs said fewer permitted sellers reduced price competition and led consumers to pay artificially inflated prices.
Those were allegations evaluated at the motion-to-dismiss stage, not findings that prices were actually fixed or that every purchaser suffered an overcharge. The case docket identifies the filing history and procedural posture at Justia’s docket page.
Apple and Amazon’s explanation
Apple and Amazon argued that the reseller restrictions served legitimate purposes, including combating counterfeit and unauthorized products. A controlled reseller network could, in their view, improve product authenticity, warranty reliability, and consumer protection.
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That justification did not automatically end the case. In a rule-of-reason analysis, a court weighs both possible competitive harm and possible benefits. The relevant questions can include:
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- Whether the arrangement reduced competition or increased prices.
- Whether Apple or Amazon had sufficient market power in the markets at issue.
- Whether anti-counterfeit benefits were real and substantial.
- Whether less restrictive measures could provide similar protection.
The dispute was narrower than a claim that the companies controlled all smartphones or all online retail. It focused on Apple products sold through Amazon’s marketplace and required a fact-specific assessment.
Why the rule-of-reason claim survived
A motion to dismiss asks whether the complaint plausibly alleges a legally valid claim, assuming its well-pleaded factual allegations are true for that limited purpose. Judge Coughenour concluded that the plaintiffs had alleged enough concerning the reseller restriction, competitive effects, and consumer injury to proceed under the rule of reason.
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The court therefore treated the agreement as conduct requiring a developed factual record rather than as automatically unlawful or automatically justified. Evidence about seller access, prices, market power, authentication practices, and potential alternatives could have become important later in the litigation.
Why the per se theory failed
The plaintiffs also argued that the arrangement belonged to a category of agreements considered inherently unlawful under the per se rule. Under that approach, a plaintiff generally does not need the same full examination of market effects and business justifications.
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The judge dismissed that theory with prejudice. The plaintiffs could continue only under the more fact-intensive rule-of-reason framework. The 2023 order did not convert the surviving claim into a finding that Apple and Amazon had violated antitrust law.
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What consumers did—and did not—win
The complaint sought unspecified damages and other relief, and federal antitrust law can permit treble damages if a plaintiff ultimately proves a qualifying injury. Nothing in the June 2023 order, however, awarded damages or created a payment program.
- No consumer refunds were ordered.
- No settlement was approved.
- No class was certified; this remained a putative class action.
- No trial verdict or final liability determination was entered.
Consumers would have needed a later class-certification order, settlement, judgment, or claims process before any recovery could become available.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened after the 2023 ruling
The case did not remain an unresolved lawsuit indefinitely. Later proceedings involved attempts to amend the complaint and additional motions. On September 29, 2025, the court granted Apple’s motion for reconsideration, denied leave to amend, and dismissed the action. The later order is available at this docket entry.
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Accordingly, the June 2023 decision should be described as an initial, partial procedural victory for the plaintiffs—not as a final consumer win. The rule-of-reason claim survived the first challenge, but the lawsuit ultimately ended in dismissal.
How to read the headline accurately
The phrase “rejects bids to dismiss” is directionally correct but incomplete. A precise account is:
Quick Recap
- On June 8, 2023, the judge denied Apple’s and Amazon’s requests to dismiss the rule-of-reason claim.
- The judge dismissed the plaintiffs’ per se theory with prejudice.
- The ruling decided only pleading-stage sufficiency, not whether the agreement violated the Sherman Act.
- The action was later dismissed after the September 29, 2025 reconsideration ruling.
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