Hausfeld wins GCR’s Litigation of the Year – Non Cartel Prosecution for Google Play Store Litigation

On March 28, at Global Competition Review’s Awards Ceremony, Hausfeld won the ‘Litigation of the Year – Non Cartel Prosecution’ award for its work representing a class of nearly 48,000 developers in In re Google Play Developer Antitrust Litigation, a case that challenged Google’s requirement that app developers pay a 30% tax to Google on revenue earned from paid apps and in-app products sold in the Google Play Store. As Interim Co-Lead Counsel for the nationwide class of app developers, Hausfeld reached a $90 million settlement with Google and successfully negotiated meaningful injunctive relief that will benefit the developer class for years to come.

In December 2022, the settlement was preliminarily approved on behalf of a class 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. In addition to paying $90 million in monetary relief directly to developers, Google has acknowledged that the litigation was a catalyst for its 2021 launch of a program where developers pay a reduced 15% service fee on their first $1 million in annual revenues and agreed to maintain that reduced fee tier for at least three more years. Google has also committed to a series of structural reforms, including developing an “Indie Apps Corner” on the homepage of the Google Play Store and publishing an annual transparency report. 

In re Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation is one of the first cases filed in a wave of antitrust litigation that has disrupted the tech industry. 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.

Hausfeld was appointed Interim Co-Lead Class Counsel along with Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and Sperling & Slater. Hausfeld attorneys working on the case include Melinda R. Coolidge, Katie R. Beran, and Kyle Bates.

Congratulations to the team!

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