$8.5M Google Referrer Header Settlement OK;Deal Requires Cy Pres Relief, Disclosures

A class settlement resolving litigation over Google Inc. privacy practices has won final approval in the Northern District of California in a deal that distributes most of the proceeds to university programs (In re Google Referrer Header Privacy Litig., 2015 BL 95117, N.D. Cal., 5:10-cv-04809-EJD, 3/31/15).

Such a cy pres distribution is a “next-best” result because the $8.5 million settlement fund is not reasonably distributable, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held March 31.

Judge Edward J. Davila said that the settlement class constituted 129 million members sharing a common injury, and under ...