Google PageRank lawsuit thrown out

Google had been accused of 'pervasive monopolistic practices'

A Google AdSense customer that tried to sue Google over a 'zero' PageRank rating has had its claim thrown out of a US court. 

However, the judge left the door open for the claim to be amended and filed again.

KinderStart.com, a California-based search engine for parents and teachers (not to be confused with the UK nurseries directory Kinderstart.co.uk) sued Google in March after its rating fell to zero. 

The company claimed in court that Google had engaged in "pervasive monopolistic practices" which, among other charges, suppressed competition and deprived KinderStart.com of its freedom of speech.

Lawyers for KinderStart.com alleged that the site's traffic fell 70 per cent after its ranking was reduced, and that its Google AdSense revenues fell by more than 80 per cent.

However, San José District Judge Jeremy Fogel dismissed all KinderStart.com's claims as "insufficient", "unsupported by evidence" or "too vague".

The only comfort for KinderStart.com is that Judge Fogel gave some of the claims "leave to amend" so that they can be modified and filed again.

KinderStart.com's lawyers have stated that they will file an amended complaint by the next court date, scheduled for 29 September.

Lawyers for Google said in a statement: "We are pleased that Judge Fogel dismissed all of KinderStart.com's claims."