About Us

Professor Andreas Stephan

is a leading academic with twenty-years’ experience of research and teaching in competition law. He is currently based at the University of East Anglia Law School and has been Head of the Department there since 2017.
 
Professor Stephan has dedicated his career to researching anticompetitive behaviour. He has extensive experience engaging with businesses, through his research and consultancy work. Professor Stephan has published numerus academic publications and he is also the co-editor of the ‘Competition Policy Blog’.

Passionate about supporting the rights of small businesses, Professor Stephan has applied to be authorised by the Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent all third-party Amazon sellers who may have suffered loss as a result of Amazon’s abusive behaviour. If successful, every member of the class (who has not opted out) may be entitled to compensation.
 
Professor Stephan said: “Amazon has engaged in a variety of strategies to grow its e-commerce platform, lock sellers into it, prevent the expansion of rivals, and use its market dominance to exploit the hundreds of thousands of sellers in Britain that use its platform. But few of these independent online sellers can operate without using Amazon’s platform – leaving them vulnerable to abuse. I am bringing this litigation to give sellers in the UK the opportunity that they might not otherwise have to be compensated for all those unfair practices, and help ensure fairer treatment of third party sellers by Amazon in the future” 

Consultative Panel

Professor Stephan is supported by a vastly experienced consultative council, which includes former Supreme Court president Lord Neuberger, Stephen Robertson, former Director General of the British Retail Consortium, and commercial litigation specialist Sue Prevezer KC.

Stephen Robertson said: “This action is an important test of competitive fair play in this already valuable and growing route to market, so I am delighted to be part of the consultative panel for this claim which seeks financial redress for third party sellers across the UK whose businesses may have lost out as a result of Amazon’s conduct. As a former Director General of British Retail Consortium and career retailer, I see this claim as an important step to obtaining compensation for these hard-working and entrepreneurial third-party sellers.”

Geradin Partners

Professor Stephan has instructed the law firm Geradin Partners to represent him in the collective proceedings. Geradin Partners is a leading European law firm specialising in competition law and digital markets, with extensive experience in collective action claims before the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Founding Partner of Geradin Partners, Damien Geradin, said: “Amazon, one of the world’s largest companies, has engaged in manifest abuses of its dominant position as recognized by competition authorities in the EU and the UK. Amazon is also subject to a lawsuit filed by the US Federal Trade Commission for anticompetitive conduct. This class action gives sellers the opportunity to seek redress for the significant harm they have suffered”

Innsworth Capital Limited is a commercial litigation and arbitration funder, and has agreed to finance the claim.