Google wins dismissal of US consumer lawsuit over mobile search monopoly

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin dismissed the consumers' antitrust lawsuit against Google, citing insufficient evidence of harm from the company's market dominance.

A federal judge in California has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Google of unlawfully dominating web search on smartphones, as reported by Reuters. However, the judge indicated that consumers might get another opportunity to pursue the case, following a separate ruling by a Washington, D.C. court that found the tech giant spent billions to create an illegal monopoly.

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco dismissed the consumers' antitrust lawsuit against Google, citing insufficient factual evidence to demonstrate harm from the Alphabet unit's market dominance. However, Lin indicated that the plaintiffs could file an amended lawsuit, referencing the D.C. court’s significant August 6 ruling, which determined that Google's exclusive contracts with Apple and other companies contributed to its creation of an illegal monopoly over search engines.

Joseph Alioto, the attorney representing the consumers, stated oo August 12 that they plan to amend the lawsuit. The consumers initially filed their case in 2022, accusing Google of unlawfully conspiring with Apple to make Google the exclusive preloaded default search engine on Apple devices.

Judge Lin had previously dismissed an earlier version of the case due to insufficient factual evidence. In her latest ruling, she once again criticised the plaintiffs for making "conclusory" and "speculative" claims.

Despite the setback, the ruling offers some hope for the consumer plaintiffs. Judge Lin's order frequently referenced U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta’s recent decision against Google in Washington. After a weeks-long non-jury trial, Mehta found that Google's billions in payments to Apple and other tech companies to secure its position as the default search engine violated antitrust laws.

Lin has given the plaintiffs until September 9 to file an amended complaint. Meanwhile, Google has denied the allegations in both cases and stated that it plans to appeal Mehta’s ruling.