Amazon bucks arbitration, allowing customers to sue

Amazon has cut its arbitration proceedings and is allowing customers and employees to file lawsuits in a move that received no official announcement.

The change is shown on Amazon’s website with the arbitration requirements being dropped and a line about how lawsuits can be brought in state or federal courts against the company being posted, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The arbitration process is used by many companies and is put in a customer’s contract. The process is similar to a court case but it is done privately, has no appeals, less evidence is presented and multiple customers are not allowed to team up on the same accusation.

Amazon agreed to pay initial filing fees for arbitration claims that could range from $100 to $2,000.

Lawyers involved in the proceeding said Amazon had to pay tens of millions of dollars in filing fees after 75,000 individual arbitration claims were filed by Amazon Echo users saying the device was recording without their consent, according to Journal.

Arbitration proceedings were then dropped by the company, and Amazon is now allowing customers to sue.

Amazon is already facing three class-action lawsuits from Echo users following the move.

Some of the arbitration claims against Amazon have been won by the company or the plaintiff has withdrawn the claim, the Journal reported.

The Hill has reached out to Amazon for comment.