Amazon's board of directors is facing a new lawsuit, which was filed by a pension fund.
The plaintiffs claim that the e-commerce giant approved Project Kuiper launch contracts without checking them properly.
Amazon Barely Reviewed Project Kuiper Launch Contracts, Claims Lawsuit
This picture taken on on October 22, 2019, shows a new Amazon warehouse, part of mobile robotic fulfilment systems also known as 'Amazon robotics', in Bretigny-sur-Orge, some 30kms south of Paris.
According to Space News, the Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund filed a lawsuit with Delaware's Court of Chancery on Monday, Aug. 28.
The legal action claimed that Amazon's board of directors "acted in bad faith" when they approved the recent Project Kuiper launch contracts.
The pension fund argued that Amazon barely spent an hour reviewing these contracts, which awarded billions of dollars to Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.
The latest lawsuit against Amazon reveals how the e-commerce giant selected ULA (United Launch Alliance), Arianespace, and Blue Origin to launch Kuiper satellites in April 2022.
The Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund also stated that Amazon didn't consider SpaceX for its satellite launch contracts, claiming that the personal conflict between Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk contributed to it.
"Inexplicably, the most famous, reliable, and obvious launch provider in the world - SpaceX - was not among the four companies presented to [Amazon's] Audit Committee," said the organization via TechCrunch
Project Kuiper Contracts Could be Amazon's 2nd Largest Expenditure
Amazon’s description of Project Kuiper, an initiative to build a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation capable of providing reliable, affordable broadband service to unserved and underserved communities around the world, is displayed on a screen at CES 2023 at Venetian Expo on January 07, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The latest lawsuit didn't provide the exact value of the Project Kuiper contracts it's talking about.
However, the plaintiffs claim that the satellite launch deals across Blue Origin, ULA, and Arianespace could ve the Amazon's second-largest capital expenditure over the past 25 years.
To give you an idea about the estimated value of the Project Kuiper satellite launch contracts, Amazon's first largest capital expenditure was its Whole Foods acquisition, which cost over $13 billion.
The legal action stated that around 45% of the launch contract spending went to Blue Origin, which is $585 million.
The plaintiffs argued that the decision of the board of directors to exclude SpaceX was unfair to Amazon.
This is because Elon Musk's space company is considered a launch provider with the most proven track record and offers among the most affordable launch services in the industry.
If you want to learn more details about the latest Amazon lawsuit filed by the Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund, you can click this link.
Related Article: Joe Biden's Administration Sues Elon Musk's SpaceX for Allegedly Discriminating Against Asylum Seekers, Refusing To Hire Them
