A U.S. judicial panel ordered the case to be returned to federal court in Texas on Monday, awarding Texas victory in the most recent phase of its antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet’s Google.
The lawsuit was moved to a federal court in New York in August 2021, where other cases involving advertising technology were being heard, at Google’s request.
After Congress passed the Venue Act in 2022, which gives state attorneys general the right to choose where an antitrust lawsuit will be litigated, Texas had requested that the lawsuit be moved back.
The Texas claim blames Google for disregarding the law by ruling the cycle that promoters use to put advertisements on the web. Publishers of websites complain that this has led to lower revenues.
Google stated that it was against the decision. A spokesperson added, “We’re confident that any court will agree that the Texas Attorney General’s case is incorrect on both the facts and the law.”
A request for clarification was sent to the Texas attorney general’s office, which did not immediately respond.
The panel of judges wrote, in their order, which was signed by chair Karen Caldwell, ” The Venue Act clearly aims to allow state antitrust actions to proceed in their original venue, as it appears.
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation made the decision.
The case will be transferred back to the eastern district of Texas, which is known for having a fast docket and faster hearings and decisions.
The search and advertising giant, which also makes an operating system for smartphones and owns YouTube, is the target of antitrust lawsuits all over the world, the majority of which are based on some form of abuse of dominance. Google has denied any bad behavior by they way it maintains its numerous organizations.
Google is fighting the federal government of the United States in two antitrust lawsuits, one based on abuse of dominance in search and the other on abuse of dominance in advertising technology, in addition to the battle in Texas. In addition, in 2021, states led by Utah brought a lawsuit claiming that the company violated antitrust law by managing its play store.
Source – Yahoo
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