On March 18, 2020, Judge Charles Breyer of the Northern District of California gave final approval to a cy pres settlement after almost a decade of litigation in In re Google LLC Street View Electronic Communications Litigation, a collection of putative class actions challenging Google's collection of data from open and unencrypted WiFi networks from 2007-10.

The settlement used a cy pres structure, through which Google made financial grants to various not-for-profit privacy organizations rather than making direct payments to individual class members due to the practical impossibility of identifying those class members. Cy pres settlements have recently been challenged in courts on the theory that without direct payments to class members, they cannot be deemed “fair, reasonable, and adequate” as required by FRCP Rule 23(e)(2). The Supreme Court considered that question last term in Frank v. Gaos, before remanding the case on separate grounds.  

The attorney who challenged the settlement in Gaos also brought objections in this case and was joined by a consortium of nine state Attorneys General. In a thoughtful opinion that drew repeatedly on Wilson Sonsini's arguments, Judge Breyer considered and rejected the objections. He found under the circumstances that the cy pres relief was fair and adequate, and compared favorably to a claims process involving nominal payments to class members or a lottery process in which most class members would receiving nothing at all. 

Wilson Sonsini partners Brian Willen, David Kramer, and Eli Richlin have represented Google over the course of the extended litigation.