Settlement Reached in Google Play Store Litigation; Vacatur Sought of Nov. 6 Trial Date

In light of the agreement in principle that Google just reached with 20 named individual consumers and all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, to settle the consolidated Play Store antitrust litigation, the parties want U.S. District Judge James Donato for Northern California in San Francisco to vacate the Nov. 6 trial date and all pretrial deadlines and pending motions, said their stipulation and proposed order Tuesday (docket 3:21-cv-05227).

The plaintiffs alleged Google used its monopoly power in the Android app market to inflate prices for paid apps and in-app purchases. “Good cause exists to grant the requested relief,” said the stipulation. Further litigation among the settling parties would waste judicial and party resources, could interfere with finalization of the settlement and “would create substantial uncertainty for all parties regarding which parties will participate in the trial,” it said.

The settlement agreement “is the product of mediation efforts spanning many months,” said the stipulation. The settlement in principle is subject to approval by the state attorneys general and by Alphabet’s board, plus the execution of a “long-form settlement agreement,” and approval of that agreement by the court, it said.

The parties anticipate submitting a long-form settlement agreement to the court for preliminary approval in about 30 days, said the stipulation. The parties anticipate the states will seek approval of an amended complaint that will include all the “settling jurisdictions,” it said.

The parties expect the amended complaint will be available around the same time the parties submit the long-form settlement agreement to the court for preliminary approval, if not “shortly before,” it said: “Because the long-form settlement agreement is anticipated to include all U.S. states and territories as well as the named consumer plaintiffs, the settlement will not require certification of a settlement class.”

No company “is too big to play by the rules, including Google,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) in a statement Wednesday. “We brought this lawsuit because it is illegal to use monopoly power to drive up prices,” said James. More settlement details will be released in the next 30 days, she said.