A federal judge dismissed a class-action lawsuit filed against Amazon by disgruntled customers who alleged the company had deceived and cheated them by introducing ads into Prime Video unless they paid extra.
U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein of the Western District of Washington on July 16 granted Amazon’s request to dismiss the consolidated class-action complaint.
First, Jacobs Rothstein cited the court’s prior ruling concluding that Amazon’s introduction of ads to Prime Video “was not a price increase; it was a benefit modification, and such modification was specifically contemplated and authorized by the parties’ governing agreements.”
Jacobs Rothstein also knocked down other arguments by the plaintiffs. That included the claim that Amazon engaged in a “bait and switch” and “misled Prime subscribers,” because (as alleged) the users “reasonably understood, based on their past dealing with Amazon” that Prime Video “would remain ad-free.” The judge concluded that the plaintiffs’ “understanding” that Amazon would not modify the Prime Video service was not actually “reasonable.”
The judge noted in her ruling that, “As this is Plaintiffs’ third attempt to plead viable claims against Amazon, and each time it has asserted substantially similar claims and theories, no further amendment will be permitted.” She dismissed the consolidated class-action complaint with prejudice. A copy of the decision is available at this link.
A lawsuit filed in February 2024 against Amazon on behalf of Prime Video users accused the company of false advertising and deceptive practices over the change by Prime Video to serve ads unless customers pay $2.99/month more. “For years, people purchased and renewed their Amazon Prime subscriptions believing that they would include ad-free streaming,” the lawsuit said. “But last month, Amazon changed the deal. To stream movies and TV shows without ads, Amazon customers must now pay an additional $2.99 per month… This is not fair, because these subscribers already paid for the ad-free version; these subscribers should not have to pay an additional $2.99/month for something that they already paid for.”
In September 2024, plaintiffs filed a consolidated class-action complaint, alleging that Amazon had breached the terms and conditions governing their Prime memberships.
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In its motion to dismiss the complaint last fall, Amazon pointed to its terms and conditions, which note that the company may “choose in its sole discretion to add or remove Prime membership benefits.”
“Amazon never promised — to Prime members or anyone else — that Prime Video would be always, or entirely, ad-free,” the company said in the filing with the court.
From Variety US