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Executive Summary

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's approval of a $62 million cy pres-only class action settlement resolving claims that Google tracked users' location data after they disabled the 'Location History' setting. The settlement provides injunctive relief and directs all monetary relief to 21 privacy-focused charities, with no direct payments to the estimated 247.7 million class members. The ruling removes a long-standing litigation overhang for Google, as the settlement is now final and non-appealable, though a dissent raises due-process concerns about cy pres distributions that could influence future cases.

Court Ruling Details

Key Facts

• Ninth Circuit affirmed final approval of a $62 million class action settlement over Google's location tracking practices
• Settlement covers an estimated 247.7 million U.S. residents — roughly three-quarters of the population
• All $42.64 million in net settlement funds (after $18.6M in attorneys' fees and costs) will go to 21 cy pres recipients, with no direct payments to class members
• Google also agreed to injunctive relief requiring changes to its location data practices
• Dissenting opinion argued the district court failed to show direct distribution was truly infeasible, but the majority's ruling is binding precedent in the Ninth Circuit

Financial Impact

Google pays $62 million total settlement fund, of which $42.64 million goes to cy pres recipients after $18.6 million in attorneys' fees and $151,756 in expenses

Risk Factors

• Dissenting opinion signals potential vulnerability of cy pres-only settlements to future constitutional challenges if properly raised
• The case does not preclude individual privacy lawsuits or FTC/state AG enforcement actions on similar theories

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Documents Analyzed

This report is based on 1 court opinion from CourtListener.

US Market Status