(Bloomberg/Karin Matussek) — Alphabet Inc.’s Google was ordered to pay €573 million ($666 million) in two antitrust-damages cases brought by German price-comparison websites following on from a European Union case against the search-engine giant.
In a suit brought by Axel Springer SE-owned Idealo, which sought €3.3 billion, the Berlin Regional Court awarded €374 million plus €91 million in interest. In a second case brought by Producto GmbH, another price-comparison service that sought €290 million, the judges granted €89.7 million plus €17.7 million in interest.
The tribunal issued the two judgments late in the evening on Thursday but disclosed them only Friday morning. Google didn’t immediately reply to an email seeking comment.
The civil suits are linked to a 2017 decision by the European Commission to fine Google €2.4 billion for illegally leveraging its search dominance to give its own shopping service an edge.
That unleashed a wave of so-called follow-on suits, which were delayed for years as Google appealed the EU fine. Then, last year, a tribunal confirmed that the company did violate antitrust laws — meaning EU-based plaintiffs no longer have to prove that in court.
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