De Coster v. Amazon.com Inc

Opinion

The Honorable Ricardo S. Martinez UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

) ELIZABETH DE COSTER, NEMANJA Case No. 2:21-cv-00693-RSM KRSTIC, JOHN MARIANE, OSAHON OJEAGA, and EMMA ZABALLOS, on behalf STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER of themselves and all others similarly situated, FOR CONSOLIDATION, FILING OF CONSOLIDATED AMENDED Plaintiffs, COMPLAINT, AND SCHEDULE FOR ANSWER OR MOTION TO DISMISS v. Note on Motion Calendar: June 18, 2021 AMAZON.COM, INC., a Delaware corporation, Defendant. KENNETH DAVID WEST and ROBERT Case No. 2:21-cv-00694-RSM TAYLOR, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, STIPULATED MOTION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER FOR 2] Plaintiffs, CONSOLIDATION, FILING OF CONSOLIDATED AMENDED y COMPLAINT, AND SCHEDULE FOR , ANSWER OR MOTION TO DISMISS AMAZON.COM, INC., a Delaware Note on Motion Calendar: June 18, 2021 corporation, Defendant. STIPULATION AND ORDER FOR

] The parties, by and through their counsel, stipulate and agree as follows: 1. Currently pending before this Court are two concurrently filed cases alleging antitrust claims against Amazon.com, Inc., on behalf of a proposed class: (1) De Coster v. Amazon.com, Inc., Case No. 2:21-cv-693 (W.D. Wash., filed May 26, 2021) (the “De Coster” Action) and (2) West v. Amazon.com, Inc., Case No. 2:21-cv-694 (W.D. Wash., filed May 26, 2021) (the “Wes?” Action). Plaintiffs in both the De Coster and the West Actions (“Plaintiffs”) identified their cases as related to a third proposed class action pending before The Honorable Richard A. Jones: Frame-Wilson v. Amazon.com, Inc., Case No. 2:20-cv-424-RAJ (W.D. Wash., filed March 19, 2020) (the “Frame-Wilson” Action). 2. Plaintiffs, along with Defendant Amazon.com, Inc. (together, the “parties”), agree ] that consolidation of the De Coster and West Actions is appropriate. Both Actions involve materially similar allegations that, inter alia, Defendant required third-party sellers on “Amazon’s platform,” as Plaintiffs define that term, to agree to restrain competition with “online retail platforms” that compete with Amazon, as a result of which prices on all “platforms” were supracompetitive and Plaintiffs were overcharged for purchases on “Amazon’s platform.” Amazon denies the material allegations in the De Coster and West Actions and contests the characterizations in the complaints in those Actions, but acknowledges the overlapping allegations make consolidation appropriate. 3. The First Amended Complaint in the Frame-Wilson Action also alleges antitrust claims, that Amazon likewise denies, on behalf of a proposed class of consumers who made purchases on “online retail platforms” that compete with Amazon. Because that action is subject to a pending motion to dismiss, the parties agree that consideration of possible consolidation of the De Coster and West Actions with Frame-Wilson would be premature at this stage. Benson v. Fischer, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12351, at *7 (D. Minn. Jan. 25, 2019). 4. Plaintiffs in the De Coster and West Actions have notified the Court of a further related case pending outside the federal court system: District of Columbia v. Amazon.com, Inc., } No. 2021 CA 001775 B (Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Civil Division, filed May } 25, 2020) (“District of Columbia” Action). See West, ECF No. 8; De Coster, ECF No. 3; see also STIPULATION ORDER aera

Frame-Wilson, ECF No. 30. Although the factual allegations in the District of Columbia Action overlap with the allegations in De Coster, West, and Frame-Wilson, the District of Columbia Action is not pending in a federal trial court and is therefore not subject to transfer to this District and consolidation. 5. Based on the foregoing, the parties hereby stipulate and agree as follows: a. Plaintiffs shall file a consolidated amended class action complaint within 30 days of entry of this order; b. Amazon shall file an answer or otherwise respond within 60 days after Plaintiffs file their consolidated amended class action complaint; c. If Amazon moves to dismiss and Plaintiffs do not amend a second time, Plaintiffs’ opposition to any motion to dismiss shall be due 60 days after the deadline for Amazon’s motion to dismiss; and d. Amazon shall have 45 days to file its reply brief. e. Alternatively, if Plaintiffs obtain leave to amend further in response to Amazon’s motion to dismiss, the parties shall meet and confer and submit a proposed schedule for any answer or response to Plaintiffs’ second amended consolidated class action complaint. f. The parties further agree that their Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) discovery conference shall occur within thirty days after the earlier of: (a) the filing of Amazon’s answer to the consolidated amended complaint in these actions or (b) the Court’s disposition of any motion to dismiss filed by Amazon in response to the consolidated amended complaint (or to a second amended complaint) in these actions, provided, however, that if the court in the District of Columbia Action permits discovery to go forward in that action before the Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) discovery conference in these actions, or the Court in the Frame-Wilson action permits discovery to go forward in that action before the Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) discovery conference in these actions, the parties will meet and confer to consider STIPULATION ANDORDERFOR = aera

] whether and to what extent Plaintiffs may concurrently pursue discovery here. DATED this 18th day of June, 2021 HAGENS BERMAN SOBOL SHAPIRO LLP By:___/s/Steve W. Berman Steve W. Berman, WSBA #12536 By:__/s/ Barbara A. Mahoney Barbara A. Mahoney, WSBA #31845 1301 Second Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98101 Telephone: (206) 623-7292 Facsimile: (206) 623-0594 E-mail: steve@hbsslaw.com E-mail: barbaram@hbsslaw.com KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P. 1] By:___/s/ Derek W. Loeser Derek W. Loeser, WSBA No. 24274 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3200 Seattle, WA 98101-3052 Telephone: (206) 623-1900 Facsimile: (206) 623-3384 E-mail: Dloeser@kellerrohrback.com Zina Bash (pro hac vice pending) 501 Congress Avenue, Suite 150 M7 Austin, TX, 78701 Telephone: (512) 620-8375 E-mail: zina.bash@kellerlenkner.com Warren D. Postman (pro hac vice) Albert Y. Pak (pro hac vice) KELLER LENKNER LLC 71 1300 I Street N.W., Suite 400E Washington DC, 20005 Telephone: (202) 749-8334 E-mail: wdp@kellerlenkner.com E-mail:albert.pak@kellerlenkner.com Attorneys for Plaintiffs Kenneth David West and Robert Taylor STIPULATION ANDORDERFOR aera

QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART &

By:_/s/ Alicia Cobb Alicia Cobb, WSBA # 48685 1109 First Avenue, Suite 210 Seattle, WA 98101 Telephone: (206) 905-7000 ‘ Email: aliciacobb@quinnemanuel.com Steig D. Olson (pro hac vice) David D. LeRay (pro hac vice) Nic V. Siebert (pro hac vice) 51 Madison Avenue, 22nd Floor New York, NY 10010 Telephone: (212) 849-7000 Email: steigolson@quinnemanuel.com 1] Adam B. Wolfson (pro hac vice) 865 South Figueroa Street, 10th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90017-2543 Telephone: (213) 443-3000 Email: adamwolfson@quinnemanuel.com Attorneys for Plaintiffs Elizabeth De Coster, Nemanja Krstic, John Mariane, Osahon Ojeaga, and Emma Zaballos DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE LLP By:___/s/ Stephen M. Rummage Stephen M. Rummage, WSBA #11168 By:___/s/ MaryAnn Almeida MaryAnn Almeida, WSBA #49086 920 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3300 2] Seattle, WA 98104-1610 Ph: (206) 622-3150; Fax: (206) 757-7700 E-mail: SteveRummage@dwt.com E-mail: MaryAnnAlmeida@dwt.com Attorneys for Defendant Amazon.com, Inc. STIPULATION AND ORDER FOR aera

Pursuant to stipulation, IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED this 21* day of June, 2021. ws CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 1] STIPULATION ANDORDERFOR aera