Judge sets November deadline for Google's initial response to U.S.
antitrust case
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[October 31, 2020] WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - Alphabet's Google must tell a district court how it will
respond to a federal antitrust lawsuit by mid-November, with the two
sides making initial disclosures later in the month, U.S. Judge Amit
Mehta said in a brief order Friday.
The U.S. Justice Department sued Google on Oct. 20, accusing the $1
trillion company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals
in the biggest challenge to the power and influence of Big Tech in
decades.
The federal government alleges that Google acted unlawfully to maintain
its position in search as well as search advertising. Google has denied
any wrongdoing.
In a status conference on Friday, John Schmidtlein, who represents
Google, agreed to tell the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia by Nov. 13 if the search and advertising giant planned to ask
for the case to be thrown out on summary judgment.
Following a bit of sparring between lawyers for the government and
Google, Judge Mehta said the two sides should make initial disclosures
about potential witnesses and evidence that may be used at trial by Nov.
20.
The judge asked the two sides to produce by Nov. 6 a status report on a
protective order, which would protect third parties like Google
customers who provide evidence for the government.
The next status conference was set for Nov. 18.
The judge, who was randomly selected, also disclosed personal links to
Google, including a cousin who worked for the company and a friend who
had been an executive there.
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A Google sign is shown at one of the company's office complexes in
Irvine, California, U.S., July 27, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Mehta said he did not know his cousin's role at Google. "I will confess to you I
don't know what he does," the judge said.
Google declined to confirm the cousin's identity or specify his role.
Antitrust experts have said Mehta, who was nominated to the Washington court by
President Barack Obama, was a good pick for the government because he is not
seen as pro-business.
Judges' familial connections sometimes are challenged by parties in a lawsuit
when seeking a different judge. It is unclear whether Google, or the government,
would try to get Mehta to recuse himself.
U.S. law requires a judge disqualify "himself in any proceeding in which his
impartiality might reasonably be questioned." The law cites situations such as
where "a person within the third degree of relationship" to the judge or the
judge's spouse is an officer or director of the company, a potential material
witness or someone who could be "substantially affected" by the case.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson in Washington and Paresh Dave in
Oakland, California; editing by Diane Craft and Tom Brown)
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