Rural publisher Riverine Grazier to lead new Google class action
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Rural publisher, the Riverine Grazier, is set to be the lead claimant in a new ad tech class action against Google, expected to be filed in the Federal Court before 14 February.
The lawsuit will be run jointly by law firms Maurice Blackburn and Phi Finney McDonald, which had both been investigating potential ad tech class actions against Google late last year.
The context: Maurice Blackburn and Phi Finney McDonald announced separate investigations into potential class actions in November 2024.
Piper Alderman beat out both law firms in December to be the first to file a group claim in the Federal Court. The case is due for a mention before Federal Court of Australia Judge Michael O'Bryan on Friday morning, when the new Maurice Blackburn-Phi Finney McDonald lawsuit is expected to be flagged to the court.
Speaking with Capital Brief in December, Phi Finney McDonald's principal lawyer, Joel Phibbs said: “We, with Maurice Blackburn, have the most experience in tech and competition cases. We have no plans to file with Maurice Blackburn at the moment, though there are discussions happening. We don’t know the details of the claims they have worked on".
What they said: In a statement today, Riverine Grazier manager Krista Schade said the publisher was one of thousands in Australia and around the world "who find themselves stifled by Google's conduct."
"We cannot negotiate with a global power such as Google," Schade said.
Correction: An earlier version of this briefing stated that DLA Piper was the first law firm to file a Google ad tech class action. The firm was in fact Piper Alderman.
The source: Maurice Blackburn
