Riverine Grazier awarded carriage in Australian Google class action

Justice O’Bryan, a competition law specialist, has awarded carriage of the Google AdTech class action to the Riverine Grazier Pty Ltd and the Mornington Peninsula News Group, in a ruling handed down in the Federal Court last week.
The Riverine Grazier and Mornington Peninsula News Group are represented by their solicitors Maurice Blackburn, Australia’s leading class action law firm. 
Earlier this year two separate class actions were filed against Google in Australia by law firms Piper Alderman and Maurice Blackburn.
The lawsuits allege that Google engaged in anti-competitive conduct and misused its market power in the digital advertising technology (adtech) market
A second class action, run by Piper Alderman on behalf of Q News Pty Ltd, will now be stayed, following last week’s ruling.
In awarding carriage, the Court took into account that the class of publishers represented by the Riverine Grazier was broader than that of Q News, and the factual allegations against Google identifying its anti-competitive conduct were more extensive.
Maurice Blackburn Principal Lawyer, Michael Donelly said that the firm is pleased to have secured carriage of the Google AdTech class action on behalf of its lead applicants and group members.
“We consider this proceeding to be critically important to Australian publishers and it’s important that they are comprehensively represented,” Mr Donelly said.
“Google’s conduct in relation to online display advertising has been closely reviewed by regulators in many countries, and we look forward to advancing the case on behalf of Australian publishers.”
It is expected that the class action will take several years to be completed.