Bethanie Chambers acted for Professor Barry Rodger in successfully securing the Tribunal’s approval of a £260 million settlement against Google on behalf of UK domiciled app developers.
It is the highest-value collective settlement approved by the Tribunal to date, and was achieved less than two years after the claim was issued.
Professor Rodger alleged that Google had excluded competition in the app distribution market, thereby allowing it to impose prices on app developers (in the form of commission on sales made via the Play Store) that are excessive, unfair, and anti-competitive.
The parties’ joint application for a collective settlement approval order, pursuant to rule 94 of the Competition Appeal Tribunal Rules 2015, was heard by the Tribunal on 15 and 16 September 2026. The Tribunal’s written judgment setting out its reasons for approving the settlement will follow.
Bethanie Chambers was instructed by Geradin Partners, working alongside Anneliese Blackwood of Monckton Chambers, and led by Robert O’Donoghue KC of Brick Court Chambers. Bethanie has been instructed in the proceedings since before certification and was a member of Professor Rodger’s trial counsel team.
See more:
- The Competition Appeal Tribunal rejects Google’s application to vary the Rodger Collective Proceedings Order
- Competition Appeal Tribunal certifies UK app developer collective action against Google
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Additional commentary:
- Google Wins Approval For £260M Deal To End App-Fee Claim – Law 360 (Subscription required)
- CAT approves landmark UK Google Play Store settlement – Global Competiton Review (Subscription required)
- Google settles UK app developers’ class action lawsuit for $353m – PocketGamer.biz
- Approval for Google’s UK mass claim settlement hailed as ‘historic’ outcome – MLex (Subscription required)
- Google-targeted UK mass claim settlement approved, says organization – MLex (Subscription required)
