A jury trial against Google’s alleged curb of competition in its advertising technology is set for September. However, in a bid to sidestep the trial, Google paid an undetermined amount to the US government. The payment covers the overcharges of online ads that the company is accused of. Furthermore, alongside the absence of a claim to monetary damages, Google asserted that the government could not hold a jury trial, regardless of its acceptance or rejection of the payment.
While the Justice Department which has not formally declared its acceptance or rejection of said payment, it has refrained from commenting on the filing. With the lawsuit registered with Virginia and other American states last year, the government aimed for Google to sell its ad manager suite. In response, Google insisted the damages could only be reported to be less than $1 million, and in a rebuff, stated that the Justice Department “manufactured a damages claim at the last minute in an attempt to secure a jury trial.”
While the initial hearing is scheduled for June 21st in the Federal Court of Alexandria, Virginia, the jury trial will be held in September. Legal scholars are unsure Google’s arguments would win them the case, given that the jury has the final say in determining reparations. However, the technicality of the case does grant Google the upper hand to a certain extent.
This is the only antitrust case concerning a jury among the two filed against Google in recent months. Previous lawsuits also involved illegal curbing of competition, one by imposing its own payment mechanism over other systems in Android app stores and the other in its search engine. While the former has Google remedy the case through a payment of $700 million, the latter is yet to rule out its final statement.