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US Judge Allows COVID-Era Price Gouging Lawsuit Against Amazon to Proceed

By  |  January 6, 2026

A federal judge in Washington state has refused to throw out a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing Amazon.com of charging excessive prices during the COVID-19 pandemic, clearing the way for the case to move forward, according to Reuters.

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    U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik, who sits in Seattle where Amazon is headquartered, rejected the company’s argument that Washington’s consumer protection laws were too vague to apply to pricing practices or did not cover the alleged conduct. The judge described that legal position as “unpersuasive,” per Reuters.

    In his ruling, Lasnik said consumers plausibly lacked meaningful alternatives during the height of the pandemic. According to Reuters, the judge found it reasonable to infer that supply shortages, public health restrictions and a widespread shift to online shopping left buyers with “no meaningful choice but to purchase from Amazon despite the allegedly unfair prices it was charging.”

    The lawsuit alleges that Amazon failed to adequately stop third-party sellers from charging what plaintiffs described as “flagrantly unlawful” prices for essential goods such as food and household staples. Per Reuters, consumers also accused Amazon of raising prices on items it sold directly in order to “profiteer off consumers in desperate need.”

    The complaint cites steep price increases on common products sold through the platform. According to Reuters, plaintiffs claim prices jumped 233% for Aleve pain relief tablets, 1,044% for Quilted Northern toilet paper, 1,523% for Arm & Hammer baking soda and as much as 1,800% for certain face masks.

    Amazon and its attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters reported.

    Steve Berman, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, welcomed the ruling, calling it “an important win for consumers,” according to Reuters. He also said internal Amazon documents showed the company understood what constituted price gouging and had told state attorneys general it was working to prevent it.

    The lawsuit seeks damages on behalf of consumers who allegedly paid “unfair” prices for food and other goods sold on Amazon between Jan. 31, 2020, and Oct. 20, 2022, around the time Washington state and others ended their COVID-related states of emergency, per Reuters.

    Source: Reuters