Google (GOOGL.US) advertising technology monopoly compensation case approved to proceed: publishers can claim more than US$3.2 billion in total

Zhitong Finance App learned that a New York federal judge ruled that “USA Today Co.” (USA Today Co.) , “Daily Mail General and Trust Plc” (Daily Mail General and Trust Plc), and a collective of large publishers can claim more than $3.2 billion for damage caused by Alphabet (GOOGL.US)'s monopoly on the advertising technology market.

In an opinion on Wednesday evening local time, Manhattan-based US District Judge P. Kevin Castel (P. Kevin Castel) said he would allow Google to go to the jury trial on how actions related to its advertising trading platform AdX harmed major publishers.

He ruled that a collective of about 5,000 publishers could claim approximately $1.7 billion from Google, and dismissed the company's request to challenge the damages calculation. He determined that “USA Today” and “Daily Mail”, which are suing separately, will be allowed to claim approximately $900 million and $600 million, respectively.

Google said in a statement that the ruling also rejected claims made by some publishers using different advertising purchasing tools, and that the company would “defend the rest in court.”

“The ruling allows USA Today to continue to claim its rights in respect of its $1 billion worldwide damages (before triple compensation under antitrust law), which is a major victory and streamlines our claim path.” Polly Grunfeld Sack (Polly Grunfeld Sack), the company's chief legal counsel, said in a statement, “We are satisfied with this outcome and look forward to proving our claims in court.”

Philip Korologos (Philip Korologos), a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP (Boies Schiller Flexner LLP) representing the publisher, said they are looking forward to making relevant claims in court, at which time the collective will seek damages.

The US Department of Justice and a number of state governments sued Google in 2023, accusing the company of illegally monopolizing multiple areas of advertising technology — technology used to buy, sell, and deliver online display ads on many of today's websites. A federal judge in Virginia found that the company had an illegal monopoly on two ad tech markets and ruled last month that Google must interoperate its ad tech tools with those operated by rivals, but declined to order the division of the business.

This pending lawsuit in New York is seeking damages relating to the same conduct. A trial date has yet to be scheduled for Castell. The case is In re: Google Digital Advertising Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 21-md-3010, and the trial court is the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York.