Hermes asks court to toss 'far-fetched' Birkin bag antitrust case
By Mike Scarcella
May 9 (Reuters) -French luxury house Hermes HRMS.PA has asked a U.S. judge to dismiss what it called a “far-fetched” consumer lawsuit accusing it of forcing shoppers to spend thousands of dollars on goods before having a chance to buy one of its famed Birkin handbags.
Hermes said in a filing on Thursday in San Francisco federal court that the plaintiffs failed to show how sales of the luxury handbags violated U.S. antitrust law.
The proposed class-action lawsuit filed in March claimed Hermes only gives customers with "sufficient purchase history" a chance to buy a Birkin bag, which are handmade and can cost thousands of dollars.
The lawsuit said Hermes was unlawfully “tying” Birkin sales to the purchase of other items such as jewelry and shoes.
Hermes countered in Thursday's filing that customers without a purchase history can still buy a Birkin, and it argued that such a requirement would not be illegal in any case.
“The antitrust laws do not punish companies for creating better, more desirable products than anyone else,” Hermes said in the filing.
Hermes and its lawyers at Latham & Watkins did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
Attorneys for the two California-based plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Consumers cannot purchase a Birkin online from Hermes, and the leather bags are not displayed for sale in the company’s retail stores, according to the lawsuit. The company's sales associates instead push customers to buy ancillary items to gain an opportunity to buy a Birkin,the complaint said.
Hermes argued that the consumer plaintiffs had not met the stringent legal test to show that the company unlawfully tied together the sale of two distinct products.
“Hermès faces clear competition from different sellers on the wide range of products it sells,” it said.
The case is Tina Cavalleri and Mark Glinoga v. Hermes International et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 3:24-cv-01707-JD.
For plaintiffs: Joshua Haffner of Haffner Law, and Shaun Setareh of Setareh Law Group
For defendants: Christopher Yates, Belinda Lee and Ashley Bauer of Latham & Watkins
Read more:
Hermes hires Latham team to fight consumers’ Birkin bag lawsuit
Hermes sued in antitrust class action over Birkin bag sales
Reporting by Mike Scarcella
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