[ad_1]
On Thursday, defendants Alphabet, Inc., Google, Inc., Google Payment Corp., and Google Arizona LLC filed a motion and motion notice to dismiss the first amended complaint, relocation venue and / or strike class charges in the central district of California. They did so in response to an ongoing class action lawsuit against their alleged refusal[al] to redeem Google Play gift cards in accordance with California law.
In the notice, the defendants explained that Google Play is Google’s online platform through which sellers can sell apps, games, movies and other digital content, and that Google Play gift cards are bound by the Gift Card Terms of Service. which incorporate the Google Play Terms. of Service and the Google Terms of Service. Defendants pointed out that the Google TOS has a forum selection clause which states: Disputes will only be resolved in the federal or state courts of Santa Clara County, California. Google argued that their forum selection clause should be enforced with either firing under forum non conveniens doctrine or relocating to the Northern District of California, claiming they have a significant corporate footprint there and employ thousands of employees at [their] various offices in the Northern District.
The defendants argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed in its entirety for lack of valid claims. They said California’s unfair competition law and breach of contractual claims are not governed by the gift certificate law. Additionally, they suggested that every alleged class member be verified as a Google Play gift card holder, so that Google can check if their individual accounts were subject to improperly applied security measures.
The plaintiffs are represented by McCune Wright Arevalo, LLP. They are looking for class action certification, restitution, compensation for damages and legal fees and expenses.
Google is represented by Cooley LLP.
[ad_2]
picture credit