What just happened? In a surprise move, Google has managed to sidestep a jury trial in the DoJ's big antitrust case over its alleged monopoly in online ad tech. The tech giant pulled it off by cutting a check for $2.3 million to cover potential damages.
The saga began last year when the Justice Department sued Google, accusing the tech giant of illegally monopolizing the technologies used for buying and selling digital ads. The DoJ initially sought a jury trial, which came as a surprise, claiming the federal government had been overcharged for the ads it purchased between 2019-2023 due to Google's allegedly anti-competitive behavior. Experts in the case estimated the feds may have overpaid by around $750,000, reports Bloomberg.
Most antitrust cases are heard by a judge rather than a jury. But the DoJ argued that a jury was warranted since the government could claim damages for getting swindled by Google's purported monopolistic pricing practices. Ad purchases had cost federal agencies $100 million in all, but the government reportedly trimmed its claims to the purchases of just eight of its agencies.
Google wasn't having it, though. The company objected to a jury trial, arguing that complex antitrust cases are better suited for a judge due to their technical nature. Finally, in May, they presented the DoJ with a $2.3 million cashier's check – triple the estimated damages plus interest.
On Friday, Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed the payment satisfies any damages claims, ruling that a fair reading of the expert reports does not support a higher amount. She'll now oversee a bench trial scheduled for September.
The DoJ had argued the $2.3 million payout was too low, but Brinkema has seemingly dismissed those objections. The Justice Department's "contrived damages claim has disintegrated," Peter Schottenfels, a Google spokesperson, said in a statement.
Of course, avoiding a jury is just a small skirmish in Google's much larger antitrust war. The ad tech case is actually the third major antitrust suit facing the company, which also faces monopoly accusations over its search engine and other businesses. A ruling in the DoJ's search monopoly case, which went to trial last year, is expected later this year.
While scoring the jury dismissal could be seen as a win for Google, the ad tech trial still looms large. The company insists it "welcomes a full resolution by this Court of all remaining claims."