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UK lawsuit against Google delayed by EU antitrust investigation

That's, like, totally meta-legal, man

A lawsuit against Google over alleged search manipulation has been adjourned, after a judge ruled it was "inappropriate" to hold the trial while the European Commission was pursuing its anti-trust case.

Court News UK is reporting that a High Court trial "between Infederation, the operator of Foundem.co.uk, and Google, has been postponed until July 2016 after the court received two confidential letters from the Commission which gave an update on the state of their investigation".

As The Register has previously reported, Google is accused of promoting its own services above those of its rivals, in an alleged abuse of its dominant market position.

Under European law, national courts cannot give judgments that could conflict with future decisions of the European Court. As the action in the UK and the Commisioner's probe both regard similar allegations of misconduct by the Chocolate Factory, the trial is likely to be delayed until the anti-trust investigation and related appeals have concluded in Luxembourg.

Ironically, it was Infederation who had previously filed the complaint regarding Google's alleged anti-competitive behaviour with European authorities. Infederation's claim is that Google has stifled Foundem.co.uk's placement in its search rankings, because Foundem offers a competing price-comparison service. ®

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