A UK specialist court has approved a £260m settlement in a class action against Google's parent company, Alphabet. The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) greenlit the agreement on Wednesday, following an initial agreement last week.
The settlement is the largest payout for class members ever approved by the CAT. The claim, filed in September 2024 by City-based law firm Geradin Partners, had alleged that Google abused its dominant market position by charging excessive commissions on Play Store transactions for Android customers. The claim was initially estimated to be worth £1.04bn.
Under the approved settlement, £160m will be allocated to compensate eligible developers, including sole traders and SMEs. The amount each affected developer receives will depend on their qualifying sales on the Play Store since August 2018. The remaining £100m will cover legal costs, including those for the litigation funder and insurers.
Damien Geradin, founding partner of Geradin Partners, stated that the judgment confirmed the settlement was "in the interests of thousands of UK businesses." A Google spokesperson said last week that the company was "pleased to reach an agreement with the developers to end this litigation, subject to court approval."