Judge allows Google lawsuit over alleged display advertising monopoly

Update: 

• A Texas federal judge declined to toss states’ claims that Google monopolized the display advertising placement technology market. 
• U.S. District Judge Sean D. Jordan rejected Google’s argument that the states, led by Texas, lack standing to file a lawsuit on behalf of their citizens. 
• Judge Jordan found the states adequately alleged that Google injured the economic well-being of their residents via its anticompetitive conduct.
• There is a still-pending motion to dismiss for an alleged failure to state a claim, Law360 reports.

Google Digital Ads Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: A federal judge has paused a class action lawsuit filed against Google by 10 U.S. states. 
• Why: The judge wants to give a chance for order to be imposed over ongoing litigation. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit is being heard in New York federal court. 

A pause has been placed on a Texas-led class action lawsuit lodged against Google by 10 different US states in order for a briefing to take place over dismissal motions.

The class action lawsuit accuses Google of having monopolized the display advertising market and of abusing its position as an intermediary for ad placement on third-party websites. 

US District Judge P. Kevin Castel, who is overseeing the case, said the pause will provide a chance for order to be imposed over the litigation, Law360 reports.

Casel also cited a potential conflict of interest involving a law firm which is representing one of the publishers while concurrently representing Facebook — itself a defendant in some of the Google complaints —  in a separate class action lawsuit filed against it by the Federal Trade Commission. 

Facebook has been accused by some of the plaintiffs of coming to an agreement — called “Jedi Blue” — with Google in 2018 to work together to put an end to competitive bidding for ad space. 

Castel said the law firm in question — Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick PPLC — is representing both parties at the same time, and that raises “serious issues on duty of loyalty,” and ordered a briefing to determine why it wouldn’t present a conflict, Law360 reports. 

An attorney for Kellogg Hansen, in addition to Facebook, is also representing the plaintiff — Daily Mail owner Associated Newspapers Ltd. and Mail Media Inc. They said the firm has invested a lot of time and money into the case against Google and suggested they could leave the room when any claims against Facebook were brought up, reports Law360. 

A similar class action lawsuit was filed against Google last year by the U.S. Department of Justice and 11 states which alleged the company unlawfully blocked search engine results from its competitors. 

Do you believe it is a conflict of interest for Kellogg Hansen to represent one of the plaintiffs in this class action lawsuit while also representing Facebook in a separate complaint? Let us know in the comments! 

The states are represented by their attorney generals and by W. Mark Lanier, Alex J. Brown, and Seke DeRose III of The Lanier Firm PC, Ashley Keller and Warren Postman of Keller Lenkner LLC.

The Google Digital Ads Class Action Lawsuit is The State of Texas, et al. v. Google LLC, Case No. 4:20-cv-00957, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

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