Verizon Holds ‘Appreciable’ Sway in Retail Fixtures: Amended Complaint

Midwest Cabinet Suppliers was excluded through an unlawful “tying agreement” from a list of Verizon-approved store fixture vendors, terminating Midwest’s supply relationship with reseller Cellular Sales of Knoxville, resulting in “significant damage” to Midwest’s sales and bottom line, alleged the cabinet maker in a first amended complaint Monday (docket 3:22-cv-00493) in U.S. District Court for Western Kentucky in Louisville. The vendors negotiated their way onto Verizon’s approved list, but Midwest was “locked out” from participating, said the complaint. Verizon leveraged its “appreciable and significant power in the market for retail store cabinets and fixtures” in the U.S. in choosing its approved vendors, it said. Verizon has more than 6,300 U.S. retail locations, and “obviously that many stores will require a significant volume of production of fixtures and installations,” it said. By restricting what entities its franchisees can buy fixtures from, Verizon is affecting “a substantial amount of volume of commerce in the market for store fixtures and installation,” it said. Midwest is “entitled to recover” from Verizon threefold the damages it sustained as a result of Verizon’s conduct, it said. Verizon didn’t comment Tuesday, but it previously said Midwest’s claims are without merit.