JD.com announces major lawsuit victory over Alibaba

JD.com said on Friday that it had won a lawsuit against rival Alibaba for monopolistic practices with a penalty of 1 billion yuan (US$140.68 million).

The Beijing High People's Court ruled thatAlibaba Group Holding Limited and its affiliates Zhejiang Tmall Network Co and Zhejiang Tmall Technology Co, had abused their market dominance and adopted monopolistic practices, causing JD severe damage, the plaintiff cited a court ruling.

JD was made aware in 2015 that some merchants had been forced by Alibaba to list their offerings exclusively on Alibaba's retail site and pull out from JD's Singles Day promotional activities. It filed a lawsuit in 2017.

The Beijing court held cross examination in November 2020 without making the court records public.

JD said it believed fair competition is the core of a market economy, and that monopolistic behavior such as forcing merchants to choose an exclusive e-commerce platform restricts market competition and harms the legitimate rights and interests of brands, merchants and consumers.

Alibaba was fined a record US$2.75 billion for anti-trust violations by national level regulators in 2021 who stated that it had abused its market dominance.