Hausfeld announces preliminary approval of $90 million settlement in trailblazing antitrust class action against Google
A $90 million settlement reached on behalf of Developer Plaintiffs in In re Google Play Developer Antitrust Litigation, received preliminary approval on December 1, 2022. This groundbreaking case challenges Google’s requirement that app developers who create, develop, and maintain the apps distributed on the Google Play Store pay a 30% tax to Google on revenue earned from paid apps and in-app products. The settlement was reached on behalf of app developers with $2 million or less in annual sales, which includes nearly all U.S. developers earning revenue in the Google Play Store.
Peekya App Services, Inc. (“Peekya”) and Scalisco LLC d/b/a Rescue Pets (“Rescue Pets”) serve as class representatives of a nationwide class of app developers and have advanced their claims for several years as part of a multidistrict litigation, In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation, encompassing claims brought by the proposed app developer class alongside a class of consumers, a group of state enforcers, and two large individual app developers. Hausfeld served as interim co-lead class counsel for the nationwide class of app developers and worked to both negotiate and present the $90 million settlement which was preliminarily approved by the Court.
In addition to monetary relief for developers, the settlement also requires Google to maintain a reduced revenue share for at least three more years, develop an “Indie Apps Corner” on the Google Play Store, and publish an annual transparency report.
François Einwaechter, Director of Peekya App Services, Inc. expressed his support for this groundbreaking settlement: “We brought this case to make the market more competitive, to preserve incentives for app developers, and to lower costs, and we succeeded in achieving all of those goals.” Dan Scalise, founder of Rescue Pets described the benefits provided to app developers as a result of the settlement as “substantial and meaningful,” and noted that “they will create opportunities for app developers to improve the quality of their products and services, benefiting our customers and players with quality and choice.”
Hausfeld’s work in this case is emblematic of its commitment to investigate and pursue claims for harm suffered as a result of monopolistic practices of Big Tech firms both here in the United States and in jurisdictions around the world.