Google settlement lawyers agree to £12m payout
The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has approved a £260m settlement involving Google, a ruling that will see the class representative’s lawyers paid £12m, which is 32% less than they are due. This outcome follows an allegation by class representative Professor Barry Rodger that Google used technical and contractual restrictions to make its Play Store the exclusive marketplace for Android apps in the UK.
The payout structure for developers
The settlement provides for the class representative’s lawyers to be paid £12m, with the minimum payout set at £200 for developers generating less than £7,500 in revenue. The range of potential damages, according to the various experts, ranged from nothing to nearly £1.5bn, while the maximum value Google attributed to the claim was £191m. The litigation budget was £27.7m, most of which has already been spent and covered by third-party funder Bench Walk Advisors.
Bench Walk is set to receive a profit of £56.2m from the settlement, reduced from its entitlement to £82.8m under the terms of the litigation funding agreement. The after-the-event insurer has agreed a reduction in the £6m premium to £4.1m, while solicitors Geradin Partners and the counsel team led by Robert O’Donoghue KC will share the remaining £12m, having agreed to accept 32% less than they are due.
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Risks and the tribunal’s decision
The CAT ruled the settlement, which is below the value of the claim as put by the class representative, is “just and reasonable” once the downside risks for the class representative in proceeding to trial are taken into account. The tribunal emphasized that despite a potentially strong case on liability, there are “very material risks and uncertainties” regarding the quantum, or monetary value, of the claim. These uncertainties mean the class representative could do appreciably worse following a trial, even if better outcomes are possible.
Professor Rodger “appears to have taken a firm approach” towards the funder, insurer and lawyers, requiring them to accept a substantial reduction on what they were due, “with no guarantee that the tribunal will accept his proposal that any undistributed funds should be applied towards those entitlements”. The CAT said it would decide on the distribution of any money not claimed by the class once the amount was known. Other potential claimants included class members, the defendant and potentially the Access to Justice Foundation, which is the nominated recipient of unclaimed awards.
