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.
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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.
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