Amazon, Toys R Us Settle Legal Dispute
June 13, 2009 by Mark Ellis
Filed under Business
Although they were once business partners, Amazon and Toys R Us have been in the middle of a heated legal battle that finally ended today when Amazon agreed to pay Toys R Us $51 million as a settlement. The transaction will occur in a couple of months and then any traces of the conflict will essentially disappear, according to Amazon.
Amazon and toysrus.com, a division of Toys R Us, drafted an agreement in 2000 that gave Toys R Us exclusive rights to move some of their products through Amazon. The partnership should have been extremely beneficial for both parties, but in 2004, both parties accused each other of wrongdoing after Toys R Us sued Amazon.
Toys R Us claimed that Amazon had entered into deals with other toy companies that violated the exclusivity contract, while Amazon countersued Toys R Us for allegedly failing to keep items in stock. After a topsy-turvy legal battle, Toys R Us won the rights for a settlement, although its initial claim of damages was deemed overblown.
(Image: Flickr)
