Google AdWords Class Action Settlement

Status
Not open for further replies.
Unarmed Gunman

Unarmed Gunman

Medium Pimpin'
May 2, 2007
7,335
287
0
The D
www.googlehammer.com
Anybody else get this email? CLRB Hanson LLC et al. v. Google Class Action Settlement
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SAN JOSE DIVISION​
CLRB HANSON INDUSTRIES, LLC d/b/a INDUSTRIAL PRINTING, and HOWARD STERN,
on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, vs.
GOOGLE, INC.,​
Defendant.
Case No. C 05-03649 JW PVT
NOTICE OF PENDENCY AND PROPOSED
SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION AND SETTLEMENT HEARING​
TO: ALL PERSONS OR ENTITIES RESIDING IN THE UNITED STATES WHO HAVE PAID GOOGLE FOR ADVERTISING PURSUANT TO GOOGLE'S ADWORDS PROGRAM WHO (A) BECAME ADWORDS ADVERTISERS BETWEEN JUNE 1, 2005 AND FEBRUARY 28, 2009, INCLUSIVE, AND WHO WERE CHARGED MORE THAN THEIR PER DAY DAILY BUDGET ON ANY DAY DURING THAT TIME PERIOD; OR (B) PAUSED THEIR ADWORDS ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS ON ANY DAY DURING THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY 1, 2002 TO FEBRUARY 28, 2009, INCLUSIVE, AND DURING THE SAME BILLING PERIOD WHEN THEIR ADWORDS ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS WERE PAUSED, WERE CHARGED MORE THAN THE PRODUCT OF THEIR PER DAY DAILY BUDGET TIMES THE NUMBER OF DAYS THAT SUCH CLASS MEMBERS' ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS WERE NOT PAUSED DURING THAT BILLING PERIOD

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY AND IN ITS ENTIRETY. YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY PROCEEDINGS IN THIS LITIGATION. IF YOU ARE A CLASS MEMBER, YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE BENEFITS PURSUANT TO THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT DESCRIBED HEREIN.


EXCLUSION DEADLINE: REQUESTS FOR EXCLUSION FROM THE CLASS MUST CONTAIN THE INFORMATION SET FORTH BELOW AND BE ACTUALLY RECEIVED BY THE CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR ON OR BEFORE JULY 14, 2009.


I. SUMMARY OF SETTLEMENT AND RELATED MATTERS
A. Purpose of this Notice This Notice is given pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of the Court, dated May 12, 2009. The purpose of this Notice is to inform you that the above-entitled action ("the Action") has been certified as a class action and of the terms of a proposed settlement of the Action. This Notice describes rights you may have under the proposed settlement and what steps you may take in relation to this litigation. This Notice is not an expression of any opinion by the Court as to the merits of any claims or any defenses asserted by any party in this litigation, or the fairness or adequacy of the proposed settlement.


B. Statement of Recovery to the Class
Pursuant to the settlement described herein, $20,000,000, in a combination of cash and AdWords Credits, have been created for the benefit of the Class. These funds have been placed in an interest-bearing escrow account.

A Class member's distribution from the net Settlement Fund will be determined by a Plan of Allocation to be approved by the Court. An explanation of how each Class member's distribution will be calculated for purposes of the settlement is set forth in the proposed Plan of Allocation which is summarized in Part VI of this Notice below.

C. Statement of Potential Outcome of the Case Google has denied, and continues to deny, each and all claims of wrongdoing against it and continues to assert defenses thereto, and has expressly denied any wrongdoing or legal liability out of any of the conduct alleged in the Action. Google denies that Representative Plaintiffs or the Class have suffered any damages or are entitled to any restitution. Representative Plaintiffs considered that there was a substantial risk that they and the Class might not have prevailed on their claims and that there were risks that they and the Class could have recovered substantially less than the settlement amount, if the case had been litigated to judgment.

The settlement was reached only after the parties conducted arduous arm's-length negotiations over a period of two months. Representative Plaintiffs' Counsel have determined that the settlement was fair, reasonable and adequate and in the best interest of the Class.

D. Statement of Attorney's Fees and Expenses and Representative Plaintiffs' Incentive Compensation Awards Sought Representative Plaintiffs' Counsel for the Class intend to apply for: attorneys' fees of not more than $5,000,000, plus a proportionate share of the interest earned on the Settlement Proceeds, for reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with the prosecution and settlement of this litigation, not to exceed $250,000; and for an incentive compensation award to the two Representative Plaintiffs, not to exceed $20,000 each.

E. Further Information Further information regarding the litigation and this Notice may be obtained by contacting Representative Counsel
for the Class:

LESTER L. LEVY
WOLF POPPER LLP
845 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022​
RACHEL S. BLACK
SUSMAN GODFREY L.L.P.
1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3800
Seattle, WA 98101​
MARC M. SELTZER
SUSMAN GODFREY L.L.P.
1901 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 950
Los Angeles, CA 90067-6029​
Click to expand...

The rest of it is here
 


I don't feel like reading through everything but just seeing the first paragraph makes me think it's a losing battle..

"WHO WERE CHARGED MORE THAN THEIR PER DAY DAILY BUDGET ON ANY DAY DURING THAT TIME PERIOD"

From the adwords interface: "Daily budget represents your average spend over the month; actual spend on a given day may vary."
 
Yeah, I got this. I thought it was spam at first, it yet might be spam. I doubt anything will come of it if it is true.
 
Got it. From the looks of it, Google has already allocated like 20,000,000 toward the "settlement" for free PPC credits, etc to the winners.

It could be a hoax to get your info though... not sure.
 
Roundabout said:
It could be a hoax to get your info though... not sure.
Click to expand...

I would have to give a scammer props for writing that much. He would deserve a nice payout.

I got it too and it seems like it may be legit, but who knows. Usually in class action suits you get around $1.50 so I won't be holding my breath.
 
Just skimming over the document it looks like the class action is seeking any funds that went over budget for that time frame. I just skimmed so I could be wrong.

But if that is correct then you could look at your budgets and overage for the last X amount of days and get a credit for it.
 
I sent them the info they want. It's your name, email, adwords id, and address. That doesn't seem like much of a phishing attempt. The domain adwordscustomersettlement.com is registered by http://gilardi.com which has been registed since 1997. So if this is a spam/phish/hoax it's super well executed.

Google has definitely charged me more than my daily budget before, I don't know how much though, I would imagine they have a db of records based on the info they want.

I gave it a go because I don't have a problem releasing the information they want anyways.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom