A federal judge in Virginia has found that Google runs a monopoly in advertising technology. Now, attention is shifting to a similar – and potentially bigger – lawsuit filed in Texas. There, Google is asking the federal court to skip a jury trial and issue summary judgment to stop similar claims. But Mark Lanier, lead counsel for 16 plaintiff states and Puerto Rico, says not so fast.
“The states are absolutely entitled to a jury trial,” Lanier told The Texas Lawbook. “Did they violate these state laws and how often and to what degree – those are fact issues that a jury rightly determines.”
Lanier says his clients are not just pursuing federal antitrust claims – their case includes state-level consumer protection laws like the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), which opens the door to financial penalties.
“They’re wound up, they’re intertwined with the antitrust issues,” Lanier said. “So, a jury really has to determine those issues.”
Google has argued that states, as sovereign entities, don’t qualify for a jury trial under the Seventh Amendment, and that antitrust penalties don’t require one anyway. But the states argue the DTPA claims involve civil penalties and are legal in nature, making a jury trial absolutely appropriate.
Lanier also weighed in on the DOJ’s recent win in Virginia, where a federal judge ruled Google was operating an ad tech monopoly.
“I’m sure that Google learned from the DOJ case and we’ve learned from the DOJ case,” he said. “So we hope we’ll take those lessons to heart and kick it up a few notches. The DOJ did a great job and now the pressure is on for us to do a great job.”
While the DOJ’s case only dealt with federal antitrust claims, the case in Texas goes further – and the financial stakes are high. “Our damage model is in excess of $100 billion,” Lanier said.
U.S. District Judge Sean D. Jordan, who is overseeing the Texas case, has asked the plaintiffs’ attorneys for briefs on the impact of the Virginia ruling by May 12. The court will soon decide whether Texas’ case moves forward, and whether a jury will have a chance to weigh in.
