RECOVERING DAMAGES UP TO €2.1 BILLION CAUSED BY
Google
Shopping
TO OWNERS OF PRICE COMPARISON WEBSITES
Google’s anticompetitive behavior
Price comparison service today known as Google Shopping (since 2013) was launched in 2004, offering consumers the possibility of comparing prices of products listed online.
In 2017 the European Commission recognized Google’s abuse of its dominant position on the EU online market by essentially promoting its own price comparison services in their general results pages, thus damaging the competing individual websites that were providing the same type of solution.
As a result of this practice, the traffic to alternative online price comparison tools has decreased in some jurisdictions by up to 90 %. The moment when violation of competition law occurred depends on the country.
2.4 Billion Euros the fine Google and Alphabet were ordered to pay for violating the competition law.
The European Commission subsequently decided that Google is obliged to treat individual price comparison tools in the same manner as it treats its own product. As of September 2017, Google enabled alternative price comparison sites to bid for relevant space within the website interface, however this didn’t improve the situation to a sufficient level.
In February 2020, Google and Alphabet appealed the EC decision to the European Union’s General Court. The General Court dismissed most of the appeal grounds and confirmed the amount of the penalty. Now Google is pursuing another appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
COURSE OF COOPERATION – časová osa
Initial meeting where we discuss the case specifics and introduce you to our team of experts ->
Signing a no-win-no-fee contract.
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Our experts analyze your data and prepare the case for submission while staying closely in touch, informing you and listening to you throughout the whole process.
PARTNERSHIP BENEFITS
Strategic partnership with LitFin provides the following benefits:
Stronger negotiation position – you will be part of the group which will increase the pressure on the defendant.
Elimination of financial risk – LitFin bears all the costs associated with the claim recovery process. Our commission is paid only in case of a successful recovery of your claim.
Representation by renowned law firms – wou will be led through the litigation process by us and our team of competent experts with great track record.
TEAM OF EXPERTS
Stek advocaten (+ Logo, Chambers logo, Legal 500 logo)
Team of professional lawyers from the Netherlands who have years of experience in the field of competition law and are recognized by reputable legal reviews like Chambers Global, Global Competition Review and Legal 500.
These are some of the cases related to the competition law that they have worked on:
Representing main defendant Samsung in an EUR 2 billion antitrust damages litigation from Turkish and Brazilian corporates against Samsung, Phillips, LG and Technicolor related to alleged cartel arrangements with regard to cathode ray tubes.
Representing third-party defendant US airline Polar Air in an EUR 300 million antitrust damages litigation related to alleged cartel arrangements in the air cargo industry.
Their team is led by Ruben Elkerbout & Simon Boersen.
Ruben Elkerbout (+ foto) – Ruben is an all-round highly recommended competition law expert who acts on the full range of EU competition law issues. Ruben has extensive experience in cartel and merger control proceedings before the European Commission. Ruben is recommended in the EU/Competition section of all leading legal directories, including Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 Rankings, GCR etc.
Simon Boersen (+ foto) – Simon is a determined and experienced litigator who has a particular interest in private international law and procedural law. In 2017 and 2018, Simon was ranked “Next Generation Lawyer” in the Legal 500 Rankings. In 2019 he was recognized as a key name and “Rising Star”.
Shivaun & Adam Raff (+ foto)
Co-founders of Foundem, the technology company whose complaint triggered the EC’s investigation into Google. Actively involved throughout the investigation, including intervening in Google’s appeal of the Decision to the General Court.
With an unequaled understanding of the technical details underpinning this complex case, they have remained the most prominent voice speaking out against Google’s anti-competitive practices, and have been featured in Wired, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Die Welt, and many other reputable media outlets.
“The outcome of this case is going to determine the future of competition, innovation and consumer choice across the internet. That is worth fighting for.”
Shivaun Raff
LitFin – Litigation financiers
Find more about the complex litigation finance provider on litfin.capital.