Google lost its bid to throw out most publisher antitrust suits over its ad tech monopoly, as US District Judge P. Kevin Castel in Manhattan cleared jury trials on over $3.2 billion in claimed damages. Roughly 5,000 publishers that sold ads through Google’s AdX exchange can seek about $1.7 billion as a certified class, while USA Today Co. and Daily Mail, which filed their own suits, can pursue about $900 million and $600 million. Castel had earlier barred Google from relitigating a Virginia judge’s finding that it illegally monopolized two ad tech markets, so the trials, not yet scheduled, will turn on proving injury and damages. Google said it will “defend the rest in court,” noting the ruling dismissed claims from some publishers who relied on another tool to buy ads.
