Overview
- The largely unredacted filing, released Monday, details emails and vendor exchanges that California says show Amazon using suppliers like Levi's and Hanes to press Walmart, Home Depot and Chewy to raise prices.
- Examples cited by the state include Walmart lifting Levi's Easy Khaki pants from $25.47 to $29.99 after Amazon flagged a lower price, Home Depot agreeing to raise fertilizer prices, and Allergan confirming Walmart raised eye drops to $16.99.
- California says Amazon enforced the requests by threatening to curb advertising, demand payments, suppress listings, or remove products using its “CRaP” tool that cuts off purchase orders for items it deems unprofitable.
- Attorney General Rob Bonta seeks a preliminary injunction with a July 23 hearing, an independent monitor, and recovery of profits while the case proceeds toward a January 19, 2027 trial in San Francisco Superior Court.
- Amazon denies illegal conduct and calls the motion a distraction, while California argues the practices kept lower prices off rival sites and raised everyday costs for shoppers who rely on those retailers.