Google Ads Case May Get Booted Back to State Court
Just days before a scheduled hearing on a fully-briefed motion for summary judgment, the Northern District of California issues an order questioning whether it has jurisdiction to adjudicate a class action dispute between Google and its advertisers. CLRB Hanson Indus. LLC v. Google Inc., No. C 05-03649 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 30, 2006).
The court expressed doubt about whether the dollar value of the individual claims -- less than $5 in the case of one of the named plaintiffs -- could possibly meet the $5,000,000 threshold for federal jurisdiction of class action lawsuits under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005.
"If such claims are typical of other class members, even with a class comprised of thousands, the amount in controversy requirement is not satisfied," said Judge Elizabeth Garcia, who ordered the parties to show cause why the case should not be remanded to state court.
The class action lawsuit alleges that Google billed advertisers for clicks that exceed the "daily budget amount" specified by the advertiser. CLRB Hanson originally filed the case in state court, but then Google removed it to the Northern District of California. CLRB did not contest the removal.
Comments