Ohio judge dismisses antitrust case against Google

An Ohio judge has set aside an antitrust case against Google, filed by a company that runs an online shopping comparison search engine.

The suit assumes prominence as the company, myTriggers, is represented by Rick Rule, a key Microsoft lawyer on antitrust matters and his prominent Washington, DC, law firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.

Rule, representing a tiny web company in an Ohio state court as also a small New York firm, Tradecomet, which filed a separate private antitrust case against Google, drew accusations from Google of Microsoft seeking out complaints against its web rival with a view to leverage the legal system to learn more about Google's business practices. The Tradecomet case, too, has met a similar fate and a New York appeals court has rejected its bid to overturn that decision. Microsoft maintains it has nothing to do with the suits.

According to myTriggers suit, Google manipulated search results to penalise it, and the claims came after Google had filed its own suit against myTriggers seeking $335,000 in unpaid bills.

The ruling, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, found that myTriggers failed to meet its burden of proving its antitrust claim that Google's actions caused any harm to competition in a broad sense.

"The counterclaim only alleges harm to myTriggers itself," judge John P Bessey wrote. "myTriggers' allegations do not meet the necessary standard for pleading an antitrust injury."