• by Wendy Davis , December 19, 2025

Meta Platforms is urging a judge to again throw out a class-action complaint alleging that Facebook overcharged advertisers around $4 billion between 2013 and 2017.

U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer in the Northern District of California already dismissed the claims once, but allowed the plaintiff -- the South Carolina-based gym Iron Tribe Fitness -- to amend its claims and bring them again. Meta is now asking Breyer to toss the lawsuit for good.

The dispute centers on allegations regarding Facebook's system for charging advertisers that submit winning bids in auctions. Iron Tribe alleges that starting in 2013, and continuing until at least 2017, Facebook purported to use a version of a “second price” auction system, but instead inadvertently used a “blended price” system.

In a “second price” auction, the company with the highest bid wins the auction, but isn't charged more than the company with the second highest bid. But in a “blended price” system, the winning bidder is charged a price between its bid and the bid that came in second.

The move to a “blended price” system was due to an error in a 2013 software update, according to the complaint.

Iron Tribe also alleged that Facebook learned of the error in 2017, but didn't immediately issue a fix.

The complaint includes a claim that Meta broke its contract with advertisers.

Iron Tribe alleged that it "regularly" advertised on Facebook during the time the company allegedly overcharged advertisers. The complaint included an allegation that Iron Tribe's attorney -- referred to in the papers as "undersigned counsel" -- first learned of the alleged overcharges two years ago.

Meta argues that the amended complaint doesn't include the kinds of allegations that, if proven true, would show that the company broke its contract with advertisers.

"In the amended complaint, just like the original complaint, plaintiff again fails to identify any contractual language in which Facebook promised to use a 'second-price' auction," the company argues in papers filed Thursday with Breyer.

"Plaintiff’s inability to identify a contractual provision requiring Facebook to use a second-price auction ... dooms its breach of contract claim," Meta adds.

Iron Tribe is expected to respond to Meta's argument by February 6.