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ARTICLE · 09 NOVEMBER 2026

A Partial Green Light: What The Apple/Amazon Judgment Means For Future Collective Actions

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
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Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

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The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has partially certified a collective action against Apple and Amazon concerning alleged anti-competitive agreements on Apple product sales through Amazon's marketplace. While certifying claims related to on-platform purchases worth £289-306 million, the Tribunal refused broader claims about off-platform pricing effects, establishing important precedents on expert independence, distribution mechanisms...

United KingdomAntitrust/Competition Law
Joe Williams
Joe Williams
Joe Moorcroft-Moran
Joe Moorcroft-Moran
Siddhant Ahuja
Siddhant Ahuja
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On 28 September 2026, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), in JLP A&A Class Representative Limited v Apple Inc. and Others [2026] CAT 75, certified part of a proposed collective action against Apple and Amazon concerning alleged anti-competitive agreements relating to the sale of Apple products through Amazon's marketplace. 

The CAT granted conditional certification to claims relating to purchases of Apple products through Amazon's marketplace (the On-Amazon Claim), while refusing to certify a broader claim concerning purchases through other retail channels (the Off-Amazon Claim).

The judgment is notable not only for the CAT’s partial certification of the claim, but also because it provides important guidance on expert independence, distribution mechanisms, funding arrangements and class representative remuneration: 

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