A federal judge said Friday that the government's antitrust lawsuit over Google's advertising technology will go to trial in September, rejecting requests by both sides for a legal ruling.
The Justice Department and Google were expected to argue for summary judgment in the case next week, but during a hearing on an unrelated matter in federal court in Alexandria on Friday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema told both sides it was clear the case should go to trial.
A judge can only grant summary judgment if the facts are undisputed and he can rule as a matter of law, but Brinkema said it's clear many facts are in dispute.
(For the day's top tech news, subscribe to our tech newsletter, Today's Cache)
Her verdict was not unexpected.
The lawsuit alleges that Google violated federal antitrust laws by establishing a monopoly on the technology that underpins online advertising.
The Department of Justice initially sought a jury trial to decide the case, but last week Judge Brinkema vacated the jury trial and changed it to a bench trial, meaning Judge Brinkema will decide whether Google violated the law.
Google is awaiting a ruling from another judge in the District of Columbia on whether its popular search engine constitutes an illegal monopoly.
The trial is scheduled for September 9th.
This is a premium article available only to our subscribers. To read over 250 premium articles every month,
You've reached your limit for free articles. Support quality journalism.
You've reached your limit for free articles. Support quality journalism.
You have read {{data.cm.views}} from {{data.cm.maxViews}} Free articles.
This is the last free article.
