Wal-Mart Settles Collusion Class Action Lawsuit over Deal with Netflix
Last week, Wal-Mart settled a lawsuit with millions of current and former customers of Netflix for illegally colluding with Netflix to stay out of each other’s markets. Wal-Mart agreed to back out of offering DVD rentals by mail, and Netflix agreed to endorse Wal-Mart’s DVD sales. A group of Netflix customers filed suit against Wal-Mart and Netflix over the deal, alleging illegal collusion. Collusion is an agreement to limit competition in a market, which has the effect of guaranteeing larger market shares and keeping prices high in that market. Many, but not all, of these agreements are illegal under U.S. antitrust laws.
Wal-Mart has agreed to settle the lawsuit, but Netflix is continuing to fight. There is a website online for more details of the settlement here: https://onlinedvdclass.com/. Current and former customers of Netflix who paid a subscription between May 19, 2005 and September 2, 2011 can file a claim here: https://onlinedvdclass.com/ClaimForm.aspx.
