On March 27, 2025, Kessler Topaz filed a motion seeking preliminary approval of a $100 million settlement in Cabrera et al. v. Google LLC, Case No. 5:11-cv-01263, a 14-year-old consumer fraud litigation against Google that settled just weeks before trial.
This long-running nationwide class action was first filed in San Jose federal court in 2011. The case alleged two overcharging schemes directed at users of Google’s AdWords online advertising platform. First, plaintiffs alleged that Google engaged in a fraudulent business practice under the UCL by covertly charging advertisers for the display of online ads beyond the explicitly-designated geographical boundaries of class members’ advertising campaigns. Second, plaintiffs alleged that Google manipulated its “smart pricing” algorithm, which is designed to automatically reduce the costs of ads following an online auction for ad placement, to systematically overcharge advertisers for clicks on their ads.
In 2019, the district court dismissed Plaintiff Rene Cabrera’s claim on standing grounds. Kessler Topaz successfully appealed the dismissal order which was vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2021. Discovery in the case ensued for years and included over forty fact and expert witness depositions. In August 2023, U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila, in a 69-page opinion and following a full-day hearing, certified two classes of advertisers and denied Google’s motion for summary judgment. With the case just seven weeks from trial, the parties reached an agreement in principle to resolve the dispute on Christmas Eve 2024. The court has set a hearing for plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary approval of the settlement on April 17, 2025.
The Kessler Topaz team prosecuting the case includes Joseph Meltzer, Matthew Mustokoff, Stacey Kaplan, Margaret Mazzeo, and Dylan Isenberg.