A federal district court judge in Arkansas has approved a settlement worth up to $90 million in a class-action click fraud lawsuit brought against Google. The deal, reached last month, requires Google
to provide advertisers with up to $60 million in ad credits and up to $30 million to compensate the lawyers who represent advertisers in such claims. The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed in
February of 2005 by Lane's Gifts and Collectibles, which claimed it had paid for clicks that were fraudulent and sought class-action status on behalf of other search advertisers. As outlined last
month, the resolution would allow any advertisers who believe they have paid for invalid clicks since 2002 to apply for reimbursement. Normally, Google requires marketers to contact it within 60 days
of the allegedly fraudulent clicks. The settlement doesn't resolve all of Google's click fraud problems; the company continues to face separate lawsuits brought by other plaintiffs.
