United States v. Google LLC
A federal court found Google illegally monopolized search ads
Businesses that paid for Google search ads may have claims against Google. You have two options, and both are reasonable choices.
Read about the case →*Our estimate based on the appeal schedule, not a prediction or promise; a claim may also recover nothing.
Option 1
Hire an attorney and wait
Pursue your claim through your own attorney. Expect roughly 2–3 years* before any recovery, and keep whatever it recovers, less legal fees and costs.
How claims are pursued →Option 2
Sell and get paid today
Sell all or part of your claim for a lump sum now. The wait, the cost and the risk on the part you sell move to us.
Request an offer →The case, explained
What advertisers should know
01
What the court decided
In October 2020, the U.S. Justice Department, later joined by a group of states, sued Google under the Sherman Act, the main federal antitrust law. After a ten-week trial in 2023, Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on August 5, 2024.
The court found that Google illegally maintained monopolies in two markets: general search and general search text ads, the text ads that appear alongside Google search results. Much of the case turned on the billions Google paid to be the default search engine on phones and browsers, which the court found shut rivals out.
“Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.”
02
Why it matters to advertisers
The ruling is about advertisers’ money as much as search. The court found that Google’s monopoly let it raise the prices of search text ads without losing advertisers, because they had nowhere else comparable to go.
If those prices were higher than they would have been with real competition, the businesses that paid them may have been overcharged. That is the basis for advertiser claims: compensation for what was paid above a competitive price.
03
How advertiser claims are pursued
The government’s case does not pay advertisers. It decides whether Google broke the law and what it must change. There is no settlement fund to join.
Advertisers who want compensation have to pursue their own claims, usually by hiring an attorney. Google’s advertising terms generally require U.S. advertisers to bring claims in individual arbitration rather than in court or as a class. Each claim is decided on its own, and Google can contest how much each advertiser was harmed.
04
The July 2026 terms change
Under the earlier terms, Google paid the arbitration fees on advertiser claims up to $75,000. Under the new terms, each side pays its own fees and costs, and Google can group similar claims into batches of up to 100 before a single arbitrator.
The cost of pursuing a claim, which Google used to carry for smaller claims, now falls on the advertiser. For many businesses, that makes holding and pursuing a claim harder to justify on its own.
05
Where the appeal stands
After a separate phase on remedies, the court entered final judgment in December 2025. Google appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in January 2026, asking it to reverse the ruling; the government cross-appealed.
Briefing finished on September 29, 2026. Both sides asked to argue the appeal as early as December 9, 2026, but no date has been set. Until the appeal is resolved, advertiser claims are unlikely to pay.
Potential claim timelines
When could a claim pay?
No one can say for certain. After the appeal, there may be a petition to the Supreme Court, and then each claim still has to work its way through arbitration. Here is our best estimate.*
- Oct 2020
The Justice Department and a group of states sue Google
- Sep – Nov 2023
Ten-week trial in Washington, D.C.
- Aug 5, 2024
Court rules Google illegally maintained its monopolies
- Jan 2026
Google appeals; the government cross-appeals
- Jul 1, 2026
Google’s new terms shift arbitration costs onto advertisers
- Oct 2026You are here
Appeal fully briefed, waiting for a hearing date
- 2027*
Appeals court decision expected
- 2028 – 2029*
First advertiser recoveries, on our estimate
Best case
Ruling upheld in 2027, no Supreme Court review, and claims resolve quickly.
Most likely
A Supreme Court petition, then arbitrators work through damages claim by claim.
Slower case
Ruling reversed in part, the case sent back, or a long fight over arbitration terms.
*Our estimate of when first recoveries could reach advertisers, not a prediction or promise. A claim may also recover nothing.
See the full timelineYour options
Pursue your claim, or sell it
You don’t have to sell. You can hire an attorney, pursue your claim yourself, and wait an estimated 2–3 years for the outcome. That keeps the upside and the risk; selling trades some of the upside for certainty today. Either can be the right choice, and you can do both by selling only part.
Hire an attorney and wait
- You can hire an attorney of your choice to pursue your claim
- You keep any future recovery, less any legal fees
- You wait for the appeal, then arbitration, an estimated 2–3 years
- Under Google’s new terms, you may carry your own arbitration costs
- If the ruling is reversed, the claim may recover nothing
Sell all or part of it
- You receive a lump sum now for the part you sell
- The wait, the cost and the risk on that part move to us
- You keep any part you don’t sell, and its upside
- The offer is less than the claim might eventually recover
Selling your claim
How it works
Requesting an offer is free, takes about two minutes, and commits you to nothing.
Request an offer** You can sell all of your claim or only part of it. For the part you sell, we pay a lump sum and receive the rights to any future recovery on it; you keep the rights to any part you don’t sell.
- 1
Tell us about your ad spend
A few details about your business and your approximate Google Ads spend. It takes about two minutes and commits you to nothing.
- 2
Receive an offer
We review your account records and make you a lump-sum offer, for all of your claim or the portion you want to sell.
- 3
Decide
Take the time you need. If you accept, you sign a written purchase agreement.
- 4
Get paid
We pay you the agreed amount. The part you sold, with its risk and any future recovery, becomes ours.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
We buy Google Ads claims. Nothing on this site is legal, financial, or tax advice.
The case
Does the government’s case pay advertisers?
No. The Justice Department’s case decides whether Google broke the law and what conduct must change. It does not award money to advertisers. Advertisers who want compensation have to pursue their own claims.
Is there a settlement I can sign up for?
Not from this case. There is no fund for advertisers to join. Each advertiser’s claim is pursued on its own, usually in arbitration under Google’s advertising terms.
Who might have a claim?
Businesses that paid for Google search text ads in the United States. How much a claim could be worth depends on how much was spent, over which years, and the outcome of the appeal.
Your claim’s value
How do you decide what to offer?
We look at your Google Ads spend history, the years it covers, and the time and risk involved in pursuing the claim. Because we take on that wait and that risk, an offer is less than what the claim might eventually recover.
Do I need receipts or invoices?
No. An approximate spend figure is enough to request an offer. To make a firm offer, we’ll ask for records from your Google Ads account.
Selling your claim
Do I have to sell to be compensated?
No. You can hire an attorney of your choice to pursue your claim and wait for the outcome. Selling is an alternative for advertisers who would rather be paid now than wait and carry the cost and risk themselves.
Am I obligated to sell if I request an offer?
No. Requesting an offer is free and commits you to nothing. You decide whether to accept.
Can I sell only part of my claim?
Yes. You can sell a portion and keep the rest. You’re paid now for the part you sell, and you keep the rights, and the risk, on the part you hold.
What do I give up by selling?
The rights to any future recovery on the part you sell. If that part later recovers more than we paid you, the difference is ours. If it recovers less, or nothing, that loss is ours too.
What if an agency managed my ads?
Tell us how billing worked. Whoever paid for the ads matters, so we’ll review the billing arrangements before making an offer.
Should I get advice before selling?
Yes, if you want it. Selling a claim can have tax and legal consequences that depend on your situation. Nothing on this site is legal, financial, or tax advice.
Google and your account
Will Google know I requested an offer?
No. Requesting an offer does not contact Google.
Do I need to still be advertising on Google?
No. Past spend is what matters, whether or not you still run Google Ads today.
Rather not wait years?
Find out what your claim is worth today, then decide whether waiting is worth it.
* You can sell all of your claim or only part of it. For the part you sell, we pay a lump sum and receive the rights to any future recovery on it; you keep the rights to any part you don’t sell.