Lawyers who recently settled a class-action lawsuit against Google are seeking a hefty sum of $217 million in fees. The case alleged that Alphabet Inc.’s Google improperly retained users’ web data while they used the private “incognito” browsing setting on Google Chrome. The lawyers, who spent approximately 78,880 hours on the case, amounting to over $62 million in fees at their standard rates, are asking for this amount to be multiplied by 3.5 in what is known as a lodestar multiplier, a method often used by federal judges to enhance the fees in successful class-action lawsuits. The official court document explains their request in detail.
The case draws together law firms such as Boies Schiller Flexner, Susman Godfrey, and Morgan & Morgan. The legal teams propose their lodestar multiplier should still apply despite no damages being awarded. Class members in this lawsuit received no monetary damages; however, they retain the right to file individual cases in state court.
As part of the settlement, Google has agreed to delete the data records it previously obtained and extend protections under the private browsing setting for the forthcoming five years. No monetary relief was provided, though the plaintiffs originally sought $5 billion in damages. On the other hand, the lawyers at Boies Schiller revealed they have already filed more than a thousand such cases in California state court and plan to file abundantly more.
In addition to the $217 million in fees, the lawyers are also seeking compensation around $7.6 million for costs they incurred during the case. Both sides have agreed to waive the right to appeal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ fee award, which is set to be determined this August. Earlier in 2022, Google was ordered to pay nearly one million for discovery misconduct. That fact is likely to become a strong element of this fee dispute.
This case and Google’s settlement is a significant moment in online privacy disputes. As companies and web services increasingly collect user data, the rules around their use and retention become ever more vital. This high-profile case will serve as a potent reminder to all companies to tread carefully when handling user data. The case is Brown et al v. Google LLC et al, N.D. Cal., 4: 20-cv-03664, 4/23/24.
For a more comprehensive read on this matter, please refer to the original article on Bloomberg Law.