LCM funds £1 billion damages claim against Amazon

Litigation Capital Management (LCM) is funding a £1bn damages claim against Amazon on behalf of retailers selling on Amazon’s UK marketplace. The claim — the biggest collective action ever launched by UK retailers — alleges Amazon illegally misused their data and manipulated the Amazon Buy Box for its commercial benefit and to divert revenue and profits from the retailers.

The claim is being brought by the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) on behalf of retailers at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in London. BIRA has instructed Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK) on this case.

Boris Bronfentrinker, partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK) said: “This is precisely the sort of claim that the new collective action regime was brought in for, to enable small and medium size businesses to be able to recover damages caused to them by a huge multinational, where they would not otherwise have such access to justice. The power of Amazon is unrivalled when it comes to the very important online world to which so much commerce has migrated. Making itself a must use for retailers, Amazon has then proceeded to cause damage and financial loss to retailers by misusing their confidential data that Amazon was entrusted to keep safe and by preferencing its own retail operations. No individual retailer, no matter how large, is willing to get into the lion’s den and take the fight to Amazon, but fortunately BIRA has shown that it will stand up and fight for UK retailers, backed with the financial muscle of one of the world’s largest litigation funders, and with a first-class team of advisors. Retailers in the UK were entitled to be treated better and fairly by Amazon. They were not, and this claim will deliver back to them the more than a billion pounds in damages that has been caused to them. We are honoured that BIRA has entrusted us to bring such an important claim on behalf of retailers in the UK.”

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