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Because non-monetary demands are heard by judges directly in
antitrust cases, Google's payment means that it avoids a jury
trial. The company had said it would have been the first-ever
jury trial in a civil antitrust case lodged by the U.S. Justice
Department.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states sued the tech
giant last year, claiming it was unlawfully monopolizing digital
advertising and overcharging users. The lawsuit seeks primarily
to break up Google's digital advertising business to allow for
more competition.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia,
made the ruling on Friday and scheduled the non-jury trial for
Sept. 9, when she will hear arguments to decide the case
directly.
Google has denied wrongdoing and said it was not admitting
liability by submitting a damages payment. "DOJ’s contrived
damages claim has disintegrated," the company said in statement
on Friday, calling the case a "meritless attempt to pick winners
and losers in a highly competitive industry."
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.
Google said last month the government, which had initially
claimed more than $100 million in damages, requested less than
$1 million in damages. Google's $2.3 million payment accounts
for interest and for the potential for damages to be tripled
under U.S. antitrust law.
Google had accused the federal government of manufacturing its
monetary damages claim in order to ensure a jury trial.
The Justice Department responded that it was open to resolving
the money damages part of its case, but only if Google cut a
larger check.
"Google has fought hard to keep its anticompetitive conduct
shielded from public view," the government told Brinkema last
month.
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario, Alexander
Smith and Leslie Adler)
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