UK · CATCourt order
Competition Appeal Tribunal publishes judgment approving £260 million Google Play settlement; lawyers take 32% cut
The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has published its judgment approving a £260 million settlement of Professor Barry Rodger's collective claim alleging Google locked UK Android app developers into the Play Store. Solicitors Geradin Partners and counsel led by Robert O'Donoghue KC will share £12 million, 32% less than they are due, while funder Bench Walk Advisors' profit is cut to £56.2 million. The tribunal found the deal just and reasonable once the risks of trial were taken into account.
Order (Legal Futures) → · MLex
Key points
- About £160 million is set aside for class members, with a minimum payout of £200 to small developers.Legal Futures
- Bench Walk recoups its outlay from a £27.7 million budget plus £56.2 million profit, down from £82.8 million.Legal Futures
- The after-the-event insurance premium was reduced from £6 million to £4.1 million.Legal Futures
- Experts valued damages from nothing to nearly £1.5 billion; Google put the maximum at £191 million.Legal Futures
- The tribunal will decide later how any unclaimed money is distributed.Legal Futures
- The tribunal approved the deal after a hearing in mid-September; the written judgment was published in October, MLex reported.MLex