United States District Judge James Ware, of the Northern District of California, appointed the Schubert firm lead counsel in a class action brought on behalf of internet advertisers participating in Google Inc.’s (GOOG) AdWords Program. The complaint alleges that, despite Google’s claims that it was placing ads on high quality “search” and “content” sites targeted to the advertisers’ products or services, it instead placed many of the ads on low-quality, content-less parked domains and error pages.
On March 18, 2011, Judge Ware denied Google’s attempt to dismiss the case, finding that Plaintiffs have adequately alleged a fraudulent business practices claim under California law. In reaching that decision, the Court noted that plaintiffs had alleged that, during the Class Period, Google placed AdWords ads on websites falling into one of three categories: (1) “Google.com” websites; (2) “Search Network” websites; and (3) “Content Network” websites, but did not tell its AdWords customers that, whether they chose to run their advertisements in the Search Network, Content Network, or both, Google would place their advertisements on low-quality “parked domains” and “error pages.” Furthermore, Plaintiffs adequately alleged that, because of Google’s conduct, they “expended money on advertising that they would not otherwise have spent.”
For more information about this case, please read Redacted Third Amended Complaint (full version filed under seal).