On May 18, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted certification to a class of Alphabet investors in the high-profile securities litigation. The class consists of all those who purchased or acquired Alphabet’s Class A or Class C shares between Sept. 14, 2020, and Jan. 23, 2023.
Pomerantz secured a significant win when, as sole Lead Counsel in this securities litigation on behalf of damaged investors in Alphabet, it achieved certification for the class.
Plaintiffs allege that Google and CEO Sundar Pichai misled shareholders about Google’s digital advertising practices. They claim that Google used its dominance in internet search and advertising to strategically disadvantage competitors and favor itself, thereby inflating its revenues and creating major regulatory and legal exposure.
When a lawsuit against Alphabet by the Department of Justice revealed these allegations, Alphabet’s Class A shares fell from $149.84 per share on November 18, 2021, to $95.22 on January 25, 2023, while its Class C shares fell from $150.71 to $96.73 in the same period. Other announcements related to the alleged misconduct caused price drops in Alphabet’s stock price. Alphabet lost hundreds of billions of dollars in market capitalization.
Notably, the complaint alleges that Pichai misled Congress when he represented that Google’s ad auctions did not favor its own products. In sustaining Plaintiffs’ claims, the Court was persuaded by Pomerantz’s argument that Pichai made the statement with scienter.
A challenge for plaintiffs was whether they could show that the market reacted when information that allegedly revealed the truth about Pichai’s statement became public.
Prior to granting certification, Judge Lin opined that the investors have “undisputedly satisfied their burden to show that the market for Alphabet’s stock was efficient, triggering the presumption of reliance on the alleged misrepresentation,” under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1988 decision in Basic v. Levinson.
Partner Emma Gilmore, who leads the litigation with Managing Partner Jeremy A. Lieberman, stated, “We are pleased with the Court’s ruling on class certification and look forward to pressing our claims on behalf of the Alphabet investors.”
The case is AMI – Government Employees Provident Fund Management Company Ltd. v. Alphabet Inc., et al., No. 23-cv-01186 (N.D. Cal.).