Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) withdrew key claims over the past few months in a civil suit it's pursuing against former employees and real estate partners over fraud allegations.
The moves will likely prolong a legal battle that has already spanned two years, adding new defendants and effectively restarting discovery.
The Seattle-based e-commerce giant summoned six new parties to the case and again amended its complaint against former employees Casey Kirschner and Carl Nelson, and the founder of Northstar Commercial Partners Brian Watson, according to documents filed in the Eastern Virginia District of the U.S. District Court.
While amending the complaint, Amazon withdrew claims made with "sworn personal knowledge" of the facts, which the company used to argue for a preliminary injunction and complaint. That came after deposed witnesses undercut claims of personal knowledge.
Amazon's allegations stem from a former Northstar employee who sent an email in December 2019 to then-Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos accusing Nelson and Kirschner of taking illegal kickbacks. The Northstar employee testified he never saw specifics behind his allegations of "unscrupulous behavior," nor had evidence of employees taking kickbacks.
"I don't remember the specifics. I just know it was occurring," the transcript of his testimony said. "Or I never saw the specifics, so a lot of it is assumption and hearsay. But what was my understanding."
The fraud allegations centered around real estate deals for...
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