The lawsuit against Google regarding its alleged unlawful denial of payments to website owners was resolved via a settlement valued at $11 million.
Hagens Berman filed a national class-action lawsuit against Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) in 2014, claiming the company had unlawfully denied payments to thousands of website owners and operators who displayed ads on their sites sold through Google ad programs. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleged that Google abruptly canceled website owners’ AdSense accounts, often without explanation shortly before payments were due, and refused to pay for the ads that ran prior to the cancelation.
The complaint claimed that the contracts and terms of service Google requires web publishers to sign are unconscionably one-sided, giving Google free reign to embark on what the suit claims are actions devoid of good faith or fair dealing. The lawsuit alleged that Google was in violation of contracts with users and in violation of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, that it had been unjustly enriched, and that it had violated the California Unfair Competition Law. The lawsuit sought damages for all U.S. Google AdSense publishers whose AdSense account was disabled or terminated, and whose last AdSense program payment was withheld permanently by Google.
All of these claims were resolved by the settlement agreement.
