New major legal pressure has mounted on Google in the ad tech monopoly litigation. A federal court in New York has ruled that several large publishers can seek more than $3.2 billion in damages caused by Google's monopolization of the ad tech market.

According to Bloomberg, U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel in Manhattan issued a ruling late Wednesday allowing a jury trial to move forward regarding Google's conduct related to its AdX advertising exchange.

A class of about 5,000 publishers can seek approximately $1.7 billion in damages, while Gannett Co., the parent of USA Today, and Daily Mail and General Trust Plc have been cleared to pursue about $900 million and $600 million respectively on an independent basis.

The case is closely linked to the earlier ad tech monopoly lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in Virginia. A federal court in Virginia ruled last month that Google illegally monopolized two ad tech markets and ordered it to open its tools to interoperate with competitors, but did not order a breakup of the business.

Once the jury trial in the New York case begins, it will directly determine the actual scale of damages Google must bear.

Alphabet (ASX: GOOGL) shares closed down 1.7% on Thursday.

Key rulings: three claimant groups cleared, some Google arguments rejected

In his ruling, Judge Castel rejected Google's objections to the calculation of damages and allowed the three plaintiff groups to move forward separately with their damages claims.

In a statement, Google said the court's ruling also dismissed some publishers' claims concerning another ad buying tool and said the company would "defend the remaining claims in court."

Polly Grunfeld Sack, chief legal counsel at Gannett Co., said the ruling allows the company to pursue $1 billion in global damages before trebling under antitrust law, calling it a "significant victory" and saying she looks forward to proving the claims at trial.

Philip Korologos, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP representing the publishers, similarly said he looks forward to presenting the claims at trial.

Background: DOJ case laid the groundwork, New York case pursues economic damages

The U.S. Department of Justice and several states sued Google in 2023, alleging it illegally monopolized multiple ad tech areas used to buy, sell, and place display ads online.

The Virginia federal court ruling has already established Google's monopolistic conduct at the factual level, and the parallel New York litigation is building on that to pursue economic damages.

Castel has not yet set a trial date. The case is In re: Google Digital Advertising Antitrust Litigation, 21-md-3010, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.