Hedar: Businesses should recover their losses from Google’s conduct
A retired deputy High Court judge is set to front a collective action worth billions of pounds alleging that Google has abused its dominant position in online search advertising.
Roger Kaye KC’s claim will be the latest in a series of cases brought in the Competition Appeal Tribunal against Google and its parent, Alphabet, over abuse of a dominant position.
However, his lawyers, specialist collective redress law firm KP Law, said this would be the first on behalf of this particular group of affected businesses.
Mr Kaye, who practises as a mediator and arbitrator from Enterprise Chambers, allege that thousands of businesses and other commercial entities have had to pay more for search advertising than they should have done as a result of Google’s unlawful conduct.
KP Law said it expected to file an application for an opt-out collective proceedings order before Christmas. Consulting firm Keystone Strategy is among those supporting the claim, which KP said was fully funded. More details will be provided when the application is filed.
Duncan Hedar, head of KP Law’s competition department, said: “Google’s conduct in the search advertising market has been found to be abusive by both the European Commission and more recently by a US court in proceedings brought by the US Department of Justice.
“Mr Kaye’s case is that businesses have overpaid for services offered by Google as a result of that abusive conduct and it’s only right that they be able to recover those losses. It is important that competition law continues to protect the rights of businesses and doesn’t allow monopoly power to create a very unlevel playing field.”
KP Law was created earlier this year through the merger of Keller Postman UK and Lanier Longstaff Hedar & Roberts, and has offices in London, Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester.
It was also in the news last week over a planned claim against Johnson & Johnson over claims that extended use of talcum powder caused an increased risk of various types of cancer.
KP remains connected to The Lanier Law Firm in the US, headed by leading US trial lawyer Mark Lanier, who has had success in the US with talcum powder cases.
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