In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation

In this antitrust action alleging anti-competitive practices by Google, the district court certified a Rule 23(b)(3) class of consumers who made purchases involving apps in the Google Play Store. The court based its certification decision on the analysis of the plaintiff’s expert and found that common questions predominated over any individualized issues. Google appealed the class certification order to the Ninth Circuit. Google argues that the district court erred in certifying a class because the majority of the members were not injured by Google’s conduct and that individualized issues of injury overwhelm common questions.

Public Citizen submitted an amicus brief in support of the class plaintiffs to explain that the possibility that the classes include some uninjured members is not an obstacle to class certification. However, before the court decided the case, the parties voluntarily dismissed the appeal.