The Justice Department informed a judge that Alphabet’s Google cannot avoid a jury trial over its alleged digital advertising dominance by unilaterally paying the government.
In a court filing on Thursday, the Justice Department and a coalition of states responded to Google’s argument that only a judge, not a jury, should hear the government’s lawsuit in Virginia federal court challenging Google’s control over online advertising.
Last year, the United States, Virginia, and several other states accused Google of overcharging government agencies by over $100 million for online ad purchases. The lawsuit primarily seeks to dismantle part of Google’s lucrative ad tech business. Google denied the allegations and claimed the government “manufactured” its claims for monetary damages to secure a jury trial. Google argued that if the case were limited to an injunction, a judge would decide the outcome directly.
To address this, Google delivered a cashier’s check to the Justice Department this month, claiming to cover the government’s damages. Google did not publicly reveal the amount but stated the government could identify less than $1 million in damages, despite earlier claims of significantly higher amounts. The Justice Department, which has not accepted the payment, declined to comment.
In Thursday’s filing to U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, the Justice Department accused Google of trying to keep its anticompetitive conduct hidden from public view. The filing criticized Google for setting conditions on the check, including the stipulation that the payment could not be considered an admission of liability. The Justice Department also stated that the check amount failed to “compensate the United States for the full extent of its claimed damages.”
In a statement on Friday, Google said the Justice Department’s filing reflected dissatisfaction with the amount of damages it could claim. Google maintained that its check represented the maximum amount the DOJ had admitted in court filings.
The government’s filing left open the possibility for Google to pay damages, resolving that aspect of the case. The filing expressed confidence that plaintiffs would receive a fair adjudication of these important claims, whether by jury or bench trial. A hearing is set for June 21, and the jury trial is scheduled to start in September.
