Google reaches $90M settlement in Play Store antitrust lawsuit

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Update: 

• A lawsuit alleging Google monopolized its Android Play store, causing increased prices for developers who make apps for the platform, has resulted in a settlement deal for a Class of small developers.
• Google and the developers revealed the terms of the deal in a June 30 motion filed in a California federal court.
• The settlement includes a $90 million settlement fund, in addition to commitments on fees for small developers and other issues. It ends claims that Google’s Play Store policies violate antitrust laws.
• The settlement fund covers developers that earn $2 million or less annually from Google’s Play Store, which the motion said includes about 48,000 U.S. developers.
• “Under the settlement agreement we’ve built, some class members will likely see payments in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, upwards of $200,000 or more,” attorney for the developers Steve Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP said. 

Google Android Play monopoly multidistrict litigation overview:

• Who: Consumers, developers and game developer Epic Games are suing Google in lawsuits that have been combined into a multidistrict litigation.
• Why: The plaintiffs claim Google has monopolized its Android Play store, causing increased prices for consumers and developers who make apps for the platform. The case is set to go to trial Jan. 2023.
• Where: The trial will be held in a California federal court.

(01/21/2022)

Google will go to court in January 2023 in a trial to resolve claims it illegally monopolized its Android Play store, according to new court filings.

In a joint statement filed Jan. 14 in a California federal court, Google and plaintiffs suggested a proposed trial date of Jan. 30, 2023. Google is facing action from a number of states, including two class action lawsuits from consumers and developers and a separate lawsuit from Fortnite maker Epic Games. 

Lawsuits, actions consolidated Into multidistrict litigation

All of the lawsuits and actions have been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation, which is set to be heard by U.S. District Judge James Donato.

According to the statement, the parties have met and conferred regarding the structure of any trials. 

“As the Court has previously noted, the Complaints assert substantially similar theories of antitrust liability,” the statement says. “Given the Court’s guidance that the ‘optimal result’ would be to have ‘one jury decide in one sitting the core antitrust issues,’ the parties are planning to proceed accordingly with a combined jury trial on the core antitrust liability issues common to the four cases.”

The lawsuits follow similar claims made against Apple about its alleged anticompetitive business practices in its app store. 

At the heart of the antitrust lawsuit is Epic’s allegation that Apple and Google both use anticompetitive restraints and monopolistic practices in markets for distributing software and processing consumers’ payments for digital content.

Meanwhile, Apple has agreed to pay $100 million and make sweeping changes to its App Store to resolve claims that it violated antitrust laws with its app development monopoly.

That settlement comes after app developers filed an antitrust class action lawsuit against Apple in 2019, claiming the tech giant maintained an unlawful monopoly on distribution services.

Don’t miss out! Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!

The consumers are represented by Karma M. Giulianelli of Bartlit Beck LLP and Hae Sung Nam of Kaplan Fox LLP.

The developers are represented by Steve W. Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Eamon P. Kelly of Sperling & Slater PC and Bonny E. Sweeney of Hausfeld LLP.

Epic is represented by Paul J. Riehle of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP and Chris!ne A. Varney of Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP.

The states are represented by the offices of their respective attorneys general.

The Google Monopoly Class Action Lawsuits are Epic Games Inc. v. Google LLC et al., Case No. 3:20-cv-05671; In re: Google Play Developer Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 3:20-cv-05792; In re Google Play Consumer Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 3:20-cv-05761; and State of Utah et al. v. Google LLC et al., Case No. 3:21-cv-05227, all in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

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