I Get A Credit, The Lawyers Get $30 Million

Google’s proposed $90 million settlement of a lawsuit filed by advertisers (of which I am one) who claim they were charged for illegitimate clicks on links they paid to have displayed on the search engine’s pages has been approved by Miller County, Arkansas Circuit Judge Joe Griffin. You can read the full Associated Press story at the New York Post.

Judge Griffin said Google’s settlement was “fair, reasonable and adequate,” according to the AP. Upward of 70 objections to the settlement were raised by Google advertisers, many of which were filed by small companies that said it was unfair because they could not afford the resources required to find out how many of the clicks on their ads were not legitimate.

Under the settlement, Google will hand over advertising credits worth $4.50 for every $1,000 spent on advertising during the past four and a half years. No cash will be paid to the plaintiffs; however, $30 million of the settlement will be passed on to attorneys as their legal fee for getting us this “fair, reasonable and adequate” settlement.

Let’s see, I get a credit and those lawyers get $30 million? I’m in the wrong business.