Google has taken the bizarre step of paying the US governments proposed damages in full as it seeks to avoid a risky jury trial in the Justice Departments case targeting its alleged monopoly over the digital advertising market.
In a little-noticed court filing last week, Google revealed it cut a cashiers check for a redacted amount of money — believed to be a paltry sum of less than $3 million — that the company claimed covered full monetary damages sought by the DOJ.
It wasnt immediately clear if the DOJs legal team had accepted the check.
The DOJ had filed for monetary damages on behalf of government entities, such as the US army, that have purportedly overpaid for online ads due to Googles harmful business practices.
Critics of Google seized on the filing as proof that the company was afraid to leave the case — which could upend its lucrative digital advertising business and force changes to its business model — in the hands of jurors.
Google A/B tests everything, so this move suggests theyve run a jury simulation (perhaps more than once) and found theyre vulnerable, said Luther Lowe, the head of public policy at Y Combinator.
Filed in Virginia federal court, the DOJs case also seeks to force a breakup of Googles advertising technology business, including the forced sale of its ad manager platform.
Google argued that DOJ sought monetary damages solely to clear the legal bar for securing a trial by jury, rather than a bench trial decided by a judge.
Googles lawyers argue the check means the DOJ has no right to a jury trial.
Google continues to dispute liability and welcomes a full resolution by this court of all remaining claims in the complaint, the companys filing said.
Google also has claimed that the DOJs request for a jury trial was breaking with all historical precedent for antitrust proceedings
The filing noted that the DOJ itself has referred to the details of the case as highly technical, often abstract, and outside the everyday knowledge of most prospective jurors.
Google said in previous filings that the DOJ has demonstrated maximum damages of less than $1 million during the discovery process. Since the law allows the court to issue treble damages or triple the originally stated amount the check was likely less than $3 million.
DOJ manufactured a damages claim at the last minute in an attempt to secure a jury trial in a case even they describe as highly technical and outside the everyday knowledge of most prospective jurors, a Google spokesperson said in a statement. Thats why the law warrants a judicial review of the evidence in this case.
The Post has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
Earlier this year, Google was handed one of the worst legal losses in company history after a jury determined by unanimous verdict that it had maintained an illegal monopoly through its Android app store.
The case, which was brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games, is currently in the remedy phase.
Another major antitrust case, the Justice Departments landmark challenge of Googles online search empire, was a bench trial. US District Judge Amit Mehta will issue his decision on whether Google maintains a monopoly over online search later this year.
With Post wires
