Keker, Van Nest & Peters secured an important appellate victory for Google when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a published opinion fully affirming the district court’s approval of the settlement in In re Google Location History Litigation. Several media outlets covered the appellate decision, including Law360, the Daily Journal, and Bloomberg Law.
The case concerned allegations that Google collected and stored users’ location data after they disabled the “Location History” setting on their mobile devices. In May 2024, U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila approved a settlement that required additional disclosures about Google’s location data practices and established a $62 million fund. He found that individual payments to a class of approximately 247.7 million people would be minimal and impractical to administer.
Three class members challenged the settlement’s cy pres distribution, arguing that the money should instead be offered directly to class members through a claims process. They also objected to some of the proposed recipient organizations. In a 2–1 decision, the Ninth Circuit held that Judge Davila had properly considered those objections and acted within his discretion in approving the settlement.
After attorneys’ fees, expenses, and other settlement costs, $42.64 million will be distributed among 21 organizations working on online privacy, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Fordham University’s Center on Law and Information Policy.
Keker has represented Google at every stage of the litigation. The team includes Ben Berkowitz, Ian Kanig, Nic Marais, and Tom Gorman.
Read the full coverage here (subscriptions required).
Google’s $62 Million Tracking Settlement Upheld by Appeals Court, Bloomberg Law
Ninth Circuit Backs Google Privacy Deal With No Class Payouts, Law360
Google Privacy Settlement Objector Plans Supreme Court Appeal, Daily Journal
