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| CASE CAPTION | In re Rene Cabrera, et al., v. Google LLC |
| COURT | United States District Court for the Northern District of California – San Jose Division |
| CASE NUMBER | 11-cv-01263 |
| JUDGE | Honorable Edward J. Davila |
| PLAINTIFFS | Rene Cabrera and RM Cabrera Company, Inc. (“RMC”) |
| DEFENDANT | Google LLC |
This long-running, nationwide consumer fraud class action arises out of a scheme in which Google bilked advertisers using its online “AdWords” platform in two ways. First, Plaintiffs allege that Google misrepresented that it would only charge advertisers for clicks on ads placed within geographical locations of the advertisers’ choosing. In actuality, Google covertly charged advertisers for ads displayed outside of their explicitly designated locations. Plaintiffs and the class assert that Google’s misconduct violated California’s Unfair Competition Law which prohibits unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices. Second, Plaintiffs allege that Google breached its agreement with advertisers and systematically overcharged them by failing to apply its “Smart Pricing” algorithm which, as Google warranted, is designed to automatically discount the price that advertisers pay based on the likelihood that a particular click will convert to business. Plaintiffs allege that Google inflated the cost of “Search Bundled Clicks” by applying an arbitrary 6% “boost” to the Smart Pricing measurements from June 1, 2009 to December 13, 2012. The Court appointed Plaintiffs Rene Cabrera and RM Cabrera Company, Inc. as class representatives, and Kessler Topaz as class counsel.
After 12 years of litigation, Google agreed to a $100 million class action lawsuit settlement to resolve claims that it charged advertisers for clicks on ads that were not clicked on by users in the specified geographic areas. This allegedly violated Google’s promises to advertisers and resulted in advertisers overpaying for ads. Google did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
This is believed to be the largest settlement of a deceptive sales practice claim under California’s Unfair Competition Law for fraudulently displaying and charging for online ads beyond the geographical parameters set by advertisers.
