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Alphabet Settles Securities Suit for $350 Million

The Long and Winding Road: A Dismissal, Two Appeals, and Finally a Settlement



Case Name: Alphabet


Settlement Fund: $350,000,000


Claim Filing Deadline: 9/24/2024


Class Period: 4/23/2018 -- 4/30/2019


Class definition: All Persons that purchased or otherwise acquired Alphabet Class A and/or Class C stock during the period from April 23, 2018, through April 30, 2019, inclusive.


Here is a timeline with a moral


On October 11, 2018, plaintiffs filed a complaint against Google alleging the tech giant was a mere mouse when it came to user security.


On February 5, 2020, the court granted Google's motion to dismiss with leave to the plaintiffs to amend their complaint "no later than March 13, 2020."


March 13, 2020 arrived but an amended complaint did not. Case closed, eh?


Nope. On April 9, 2020, plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal. 13 months later, on June 16, 2021, the appeals court remanded the case to the lower court for further proceedings. On October 21, 2021 Alphabet appealed that decision to the Supreme Court. Finally, the Supreme Court denied to hear the appeal on March 7, 2022... or, not "finally," as this case would proceed for another two year before a settlement was reached.


OK, so what's the moral?


A dismissal can be reconsidered, and if you miss the date to ask for a reconsideration and you get dismissed again, you can appeal. In court, at least, the ref can count to ten more than once but the fighter can still rise to fight-- and maybe even win.


Over the years, CCC has tracked many a dismissed case that, months or even years later, comes back to life, and not only settles but can settles for a significant amount of money.


I think we can all agree that $350,000,000 is a significant sum indeed.


What this case is about


In March 2018, Alphabet discovered a software flaw in Google+ that allowed outside developers access to the personal data of over 500,000 users. Plaintiffs alleged that Google's legal and policy team wrote a memo arguing not to disclose the error since it would trigger "immediate regulatory interest." Once this error and the memo about it were revealed, plaintiff attorney interest was triggered as well.


Among other things, the complaint alleges that during the Class Period:


(1) Google's security practices had suffered a massive failure;

(2) Google suffered negative reputational and operating results once the failure was revealed; and 

(3) Alphabet and Google's security protections did not shield user data from theft and breaches.


How CCC Can Help


CCC specializes in filing both complex class action claims and voluminous claims. In several instances, such as the recently distributed Wells Fargo litigation, CCC filed for over a hundred thousand claims. We help busy firms keep up with securities class actions for every case, for every account, no matter how many accounts may be eligible or how tricky that case may be. Give us a call today at 312-204-6970, and we cn take the burden of filing off your hands.



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