A federal judge on Friday set a fast-paced schedule in the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit challenging Google LLC's digital advertising technology practices, moving the case along more quickly than either side had proposed.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John Anderson in Alexandria, Virginia,
after a brief hearing, issued an order setting Jan. 18, 2024, as the date when
Alphabet Inc's Google and Justice Department lawyers must disclose factual
evidence and expert reports. Lawyers for both sides had sought at least five
additional months to prepare for trial.
The faster pace of the litigation could put additional
pressure on both sides, but particularly on Google in building its defense,
based on what the company in a court filing called an "imbalance" in
the proceedings.
Google argued that it needed more time because, unlike the
Justice Department, it did not have the benefit of an investigation "with
the federal government's subpoena power."
Google told the judge that the case "presents complex
and extremely consequential issues, the resolution of which will affect
businesses across the United States."
The judge's order did not set a trial start.
A Justice Department spokesperson and a representative from
Google had no comment on Friday.
The Justice Department and eight states filed the case in
January, seeking to force Google to sell its ad manager suite, claiming that
the company unlawfully curbed competition over advertising technology. The case
is one of two Justice Department antitrust actions against Google.
The other, filed in October 2020 and challenging Google's
search business, is set for a trial in Washington, D.C., federal court in
September.
Google has denied the claims in both cases.
The Eastern District of Virginia is colloquially known as a
"rocket docket" for its pace of proceedings.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, assigned to the digital
advertising case, will preside at the January pretrial conference. © Reuters
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