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Overview
In the ordinary course of business, People Incorporated and its subsidiaries are (or may become) parties to litigation involving property, personal injury, contract, intellectual property and other claims, as well as shareholder derivative actions, class action lawsuits and other matters. The amounts that may be recovered in such matters may be subject to insurance coverage.
See “Note 11—Contingencies” in the accompanying notes to the financial statements included in “Item 1—Consolidated Financial Statements” for additional information related to a previous lawsuit related to the allocation of a gain recorded in 2015 related to a real estate transaction.
People Inc. Ad-Tech Antitrust Litigation against Google
On August 29, 2025, the Company’s People Inc. subsidiary filed an action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. (collectively, “Google”), alleging violations of federal antitrust and state law arising out of anticompetitive practices by Google in the ad-tech industry in connection with the sale of ad inventory for display on People Inc.’s online properties. See Dotdash Meredith Inc. a/k/a People Inc. et ano. v. Google LLC et ano., No. 1:25-cv-7194 (S.D.N.Y.). The lawsuit follows on the Government’s antitrust enforcement action against Google in the digital advertising technology space, in which a federal district judge has ruled that Google acquired, maintained, and misused monopoly power in the publisher ad-server and ad-exchange markets, and tied use of its publisher ad-server to use of its ad exchange, in violation of the Sherman Act. See United States v. Google LLC, No. 1:23-cv-108 (E.D. Va.) (Apr. 17, 2025 Mem. Op.). People Inc.’s complaint asserts federal antitrust claims for monopolization and attempted monopolization of the publisher ad-server and ad-exchange markets and for unlawful tying in violation of the Sherman Act, as well as claims of deceptive acts or practices in violation of the New York General Business Law and claims of common-law fraud and unjust enrichment, and seeks among other things declaratory and injunctive relief and damages, including treble damages, in an amount to be determined at trial.
People Inc.’s lawsuit is part of a consolidated multidistrict litigation (“MDL”) comprised of similar lawsuits filed by other online publishers, all pending before the same judge in the Southern District of New York. See In re Google Digital Advertising Antitrust Litigation, No. 1:21-md-3010 (S.D.N.Y.) (Castel, J.). On October 27, 2025, in a ruling in one of the earlier-filed publisher lawsuits in the MDL, the court held that Google is precluded from relitigating certain issues previously decided against it in the Government’s case, including (i) that publisher ad servers and ad exchanges are separate, distinct, and worldwide markets for antitrust purposes, (ii) that Google engaged in five separate types of anticompetitive conduct in willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power in those markets, and (iii) that Google unlawfully tied its publisher ad server to its ad exchange in violation of the Sherman Act.
On November 24, 2025, Google filed a motion to dismiss the state-law claims (but not the federal antitrust claims) in People Inc.’s complaint. People Inc. opposed the motion, which remains pending. Fact discovery in the case is substantially complete, and the parties are preparing for expert discovery. People Inc. intends to vigorously pursue its claims in this action, but there is no guarantee that its efforts will be successful.