Class action lawyers increased their pressure on Google this week, as law firm Piper Alderman beat out Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and Phi Finney McDonald (PFM) in the race to lodge the first group claim over the company’s ad tech practices.
The move could be the first step toward what's known as a “beauty parade” of competing class actions against the tech giant, which means it's left to the courts to decide which matters proceed. They could potentially block, or “permanently stay”, a case and apply a “costs monitor order” to manage any risk of duplicate legal costs linked to multiple law firms being involved in related lawsuits.
At this stage, neither PFM nor Maurice Blackburn has shown any hesitation in continuing their investigations. Joel Phibbs, the principal lawyer at PFM, told Capital Brief, “we suspected there might have been someone else out there”.
“We’re probably not filing before the end of the year,” Phibbs said. “We could put something together quickly but it’s important to get the details of the lead claim right.”
