Amazon Ebook Case Takes Step Towards 30 Million-Strong Consumer Class
More than 30 million people who bought ebooks from Amazon could be allowed to sue together.
On 1 October 2026, Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein recommended certifying a proposed class of ebook buyers in the US case against Amazon. The advice was issued as a Report and Recommendation, a formal suggestion to the district judge who makes the final call on whether the group can proceed as one. Publishers Marketplace
The case is known as In Re Amazon.com, Inc. eBook Antitrust Litigation. It is a class action, meaning a small number of named buyers seek to bring claims on behalf of a much larger group with the same alleged harm. CourtListener
The lawsuit is being pursued by the law firm Hagens Berman. It alleges that Amazon holds monopoly control of the US ebook market.
The harm, as alleged, is to shoppers. The suit says Amazon used contract terms with publishers that work effectively as MFNs, most-favoured-nation clauses that require one retailer to receive terms at least as good as any rival. Those provisions, the claim says, inhibited price promotions and blocked new business models that might have lowered prices.
That is the allegation. It has not been decided.
If the recommendation is adopted, the class would be large. The proposed group comprises more than 30 million consumers who purchased ebooks through Amazon, according to the firm bringing the case. Hagens Berman
The time period is long. It runs from January 2017 until certification of the class, the point at which a court formally defines who is included.
Certification does not decide the merits. It decides whether buyers can argue their claims collectively rather than filing millions of separate suits.
For readers, this matters in a simple way. Ebooks look weightless. The business behind them is not. A single set of contract terms can shape what promotions appear on a screen in the United States, and what new ways of selling books ever reach a checkout page.
The recommendation moves the case one procedural step forward. The district judge will decide whether the class stands.
