Lawsuit Against Amazon By Santa Cruz County, 5 Others Settled

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — A consumer protection lawsuit filed by Santa Cruz County and other California counties against Amazon has resulted in a civil judgment against the e-commerce giant, it was announced Thursday.

As part of the settlement, Amazon will pay a total of $2 million in penalties, costs, and restitution to the state’s Consumer Protection Trust Fund, Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin announced.

The complaint alleges that Amazon engaged in "misleading or potentially misleading" price-point advertising, specifically its "Was" and "List" pricing, Hestrin said.

The stipulated final judgment requires Amazon to make changes and revisions to its “List” and “Was” pricing to explain to customers the way the company determines and validates these dollar amounts. A hyperlink that brings consumers to definitions of the “Was” and “List” price advertisements was required as part of the judgment, according to Hestrin.

"Amazon worked promptly and cooperatively throughout the District Attorneys’ investigation and has already implemented changes to its website and pricing algorithms consistent with the Final Judgment," the announcement from Hestrin's office read.

An Amazon statement read, "Amazon works hard to help customers make informed purchase decisions, including clear pricing information directly on our detail pages."

The lawsuit against the multinational tech company was brought forward by District Attorneys in the counties of Riverside, Alameda, San Diego, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Yolo.

The case was filed in San Diego County and the final judgment was signed by San Diego County Superior Court Judge Katherine A. Bacal on Wednesday, Hestrin said.

The case was handled in Riverside County by Deputy District Attorney Timothy Brown of the DA’s Consumer Protection Unit.