Federal Judge Denies Class Cert. to Google In-App Purchases Class Action

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A California federal judge says that he won’t certify a class action lawsuit against Google, alleging the company led kids to make in-app purchases without needing parental approval, because a route to solve the issue has already been created by the Federal Trade Commission.

In its motion to have the Google in-app purchases class action lawsuit dismissed filed in January, the tech giant had said that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had already established a settlement for Google customers to obtain relief over the same issues, precluding the need for a class action lawsuit to continue.

The plaintiffs had said that it is true that some possible Class Members would be provided a full refund under Google’s agreement with the FTC and would not qualify for compensatory damages, but that not all potential Class Members were part of that settlement. They also contend that a class action settlement would “provide better notice to the class.”

However, U.S. District Judge Ronald M. Whyte agreed with Google that the FTC settlement is sufficient.

“Because the FTC settlement provides nearly all, if not all, of the possible relief sought in the [class action lawsuit], maintaining a class action for those class members who opt-out of the FTC refunds in order to pursue the possibility of punitive damages is not ‘superior to other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating the controversy,'” Judge Whyte explains.

As to the argument that a class action lawsuit would provide a better means for notifying customers affected by in-app purchases because they must “submit a refund request to Google,” potentially leaving out “millions,” who may still have “valid claims against Google and who were not compensated,” the California federal judge says that he thinks that argument appears to be “unfounded given that Google has already refunded over $30 million to class members, and the settlement period continues through December 2015.”

In addition, Judge Whyte says that “it is unlikely that a class notice and claims process achieved through this litigation would be much different than that under the FTC settlement.”

The federal judge also said the plaintiffs’ argument “that their notice would include a better email subject line than the FTC email is not sufficient to meet Rule 23(b)(3)’s superiority requirement.”

This Google in-app purchases class action lawsuit was filed in March 2014 by plaintiff Ilana Imber-Gluck after her son was allegedly able to make almost $70 in in-app purchases in a 30-minute time period by purchasing in-game currency in a game she bought from the Google Play Store for her Android tablet.

However, before Imber-Gluck filed her Google class action lawsuit, “the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) initiated an industry-wide investigation into the same conduct at issue here.” The investigation also included Apple.

Under the FTC settlement established with Google, the internet giant “will ‘provide full refunds to Account Holders who have been billed by Google for unauthorized In-App Charges incurred by minors.'”

According to Judge Whyte, “the settlement further provides that ‘Google shall provide an electronic notice to any account holder who has made an In-App Purchase.'”

In addition, “as of March 23, 2015, Google has issued approximately $30 million in refunds under the FTC settlement.”

Google is represented by John E. Schmidtlein and James H. Weingarten of Williams & Connolly LLP and Corey W. Roush, J. Robert Robertson, Logan M. Breed and Megan Dixon of Hogan Lovells.

The plaintiffs are represented by Todd D. Carpenter of Carpenter Law Group, James R. Patterson of Patterson Law Group, Benjamin J. Sweet and Edwin J. Kilpela Jr. of Carson Lynch Ltd., and Shannon J. Carson and Patrick F. Madden of Berger & Montague PC.

The Google In-App Purchases Class Action Lawsuit is Imber-Gluck et al. v. Google Inc., Case No. 5:14-cv-01070, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.