Amazon has filed a counterclaim against Toysrus.com as
the two companies escalate their battle over an increasingly
contentious business relationship.
Amazon.com has asked the US superior court to declare that
Toysrus.com breached an almost four-year-old online product sales
agreement through its "chronic failure" to have enough stock on
hand to fill customer orders.
Amazon.com is asking the court to terminate its agreement with
Toysrus.com and award it at least $750m (£414m) in damages for lost
revenue over the life of the deal.
Toysrus.com, which is a subsidiary of retailer Toys R Us, sued
Amazon.com in May, alleging that under the original agreement
between the two companies Toysrus.com would be the exclusive seller
of toys, games and baby products on Amazon.com's website.
Instead, Toysrus.com said in its original lawsuit that more than
4,000 products are being offered for sale from competing retailers,
which "violates the letter and spirit of our agreement."
Toysrus.com stopped selling items on its own website when it
reached the deal with Amazon.com and makes quarterly payments to
Amazon.com to maintain its exclusivity arrangement. The contract
was set to continue until 2010.
Susan McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for Toys R Us, said, "We believe
this counterclaim has no merit. We are currently engaged in
mediation and have agreed to avoid additional commentary." Amazon
declined to comment.
Todd R Weiss writes for Computerworld