Google’s $2.3 million check helped the company get a trial by judge instead of a jury

The antitrust lawsuit brought by the Justice Department and eight states seeking to break up Google’s alleged adtech monopoly will be heard by a judge this fall, as the company preferred. Government lawyers included a demand for damages in their suit and sought a jury trial. Jury trials can be more unpredictable, like Epic’s victory over Google in court last year, and one legal expert said On the edge that if the government were successful, it could increase the likelihood of Google resolving the case.

But Reuters reports This will not happen after the company presented a copy of a cashier’s check for US$2.3 million – without admitting any liability or wrongdoing – which it said would be enough to cover triple the monetary damages requested by the government, if necessary, plus interest.

Now that U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema has ruled on the matter, she has set a trial for September 9 to hear arguments from both sides. Meanwhile, the DOJ and Google continue to await a decision on their major search antitrust showdown, after making their closing arguments about a month ago.