Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US) Ad Tech Monopoly Damages Case Cleared to Proceed: Publishers Can Seek Over $3.2 Billion in Combined Damages

A federal judge in New York has ruled that USA Today Co., Daily Mail General and Trust Plc, and a class of large publishers can seek more than $3.2 billion in damages over harm caused by Alphabet Inc. Class C's monopoly of the advertising technology market. In an opinion issued Wednesday evening local time, U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel in Manhattan said he would allow a jury to hear how Alphabet Inc. Class C's conduct related to its ad exchange AdX harmed major publishers. He ruled that a class of about 5,000 publishers can seek approximately $1.7 billion from Alphabet Inc. Class C and rejected the company's request to challenge the damages calculation. He found that USA Today and the Daily Mail, which are suing separately, will be allowed to seek approximately $900 million and $600 million respectively. Alphabet Inc. Class C said in a statement that the ruling also dismissed claims by some publishers using different ad-buying tools, and that the company will "defend the remainder in court." "The ruling allows USA Today Co. to continue to pursue its $1 billion damages claim worldwide (before treble damages under antitrust law), which is a major victory and simplifies our path to recovery," the company's chief legal counsel Polly Grunfeld Sack said in a statement. "We are pleased with this outcome and look forward to proving our claims at trial." Philip Korologos, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, which represents the publishers, said they look forward to presenting the claims at trial, where the class will seek to recover damages. The U.S. Department of Justice and a group of state governments sued Alphabet Inc. Class C in 2023, accusing the company of illegally monopolizing multiple areas of advertising technologythe tools used to buy, sell and place online display ads appearing on numerous websites. A federal judge in Virginia found that the company illegally monopolized two ad technology markets and ruled last month that Alphabet Inc. Class C must make its ad technology tools interoperable with tools operated by competitors, but declined to order a breakup of the business. The pending lawsuit in New York seeks damages related to the same conduct. Castel has not yet scheduled a trial date. The case is In re: Google Digital Advertising Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 21-md-3010, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.