Peppered with causa over its collection of Web dealings data from wireless networks , Google wants all the cases consolidate into one , and for that single case to be heard by a courtyard near its Mountain View , Calif. , home office .
In a motion this hebdomad with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation , Google requests that the eight “ Wi - Fi ” cause , as well as any future ones , file against the search troupe be wander into one at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California .
Google fence that all complaint make similar allegations and that consolidating pretrial legal proceeding will be convenient for all company involved , include the courts .
“ All of the complaint in the Google Wi - Fi Cases avow claims under the Union Wiretap Act . Some cases involve other , similar claims , include province law claims subject to pre-emption argument under Union practice of law . All of the complaints make very similar factual allegation , and thus any necessary find will be of common fact , ” the motion study .
“ absentminded pretrial coordination or integration , the possibility of discrepant pretrial rulings exist , especially with regard to the proper orbit and extent of find , year certification and other factual and sound matters , ” the motion reads .
In May , Googleacknowledgedthat it hadinadvertently recorded and saved Web dealings data from unbolted Wi - Fi networksvia its Street View cars , which take word picture for services like Google Maps .
Google had intended for the automobile to record Wi - Fi meshing name ( SSIDs ) and their routers ’ unequaled identifying number ( MAC addresses ) but the system go further and logged the Web site users were visiting at the moment the cars were driving by .
So far , two lawsuits have been file in California , two in Washington , D.C. , and one each in Oregon , Illinois , Massachusetts and Pennsylvania . The complainant in all the cases are requesting certificate of class status , so that others likewise dissemble are included .
Seeking consolidation is a logical move that the plaintiffs and courts would likely also welcome , say Eric Goldman , associate professor of law at Santa Clara University ’s School of Law .
A less clean-cut but more interesting issue will be in which court the coalesced case gets heard , he said . It ’s no surprise that Google is requesting California ’s Northern District . Judges there are comfortable with technology matters and familiar with the company and the importance of its services , Goldman said .
“ It ’s very favorable for Google to be in a place where the judges understand what ’s at wager , ” he said .
At the Northern California court , judges will be mindful of making decisions that adhere to the specific issues in the lawsuit , and do n’t have too negative consequences that regard other Google services , Goldman say .
Google declined to comment about its consolidation motion .
In addition to civil suit , Google is also under fire from lawmaker and government officialsin the U.S.and Europe who are probing the collection of data from Wi - Fi networks .
