A judge says a trial is needed to resolve the government’s antitrust case involving Google’s ad technology

ALEXANDRIA, VA – A federal judge on Friday said the government’s antitrust case against Google over its advertising technology will go to trial in September, rejecting both sides’ requests for a judgment in their favor as of right.

The Justice Department and Google were expected to present their arguments seeking summary judgment in the lawsuit next week. But during a Friday hearing in federal court in Alexandria on unrelated issues, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema told both sides it was clear the case must go to trial.

The judge will only grant summary judgment when the facts are not in dispute and the decision can be made as a matter of law. However, Brinkema said it was clear that many facts were disputed.

Her decision was not unexpected.

The lawsuit alleged that Google violated federal antitrust laws by building a monopoly on technology necessary to advertise on the Internet.

The Justice Department initially sought a jury trial to decide the case, but last week Brinkema canceled a jury trial and replaced it with a bench trial, meaning it will decide whether Google broke the law.

Google is awaiting a ruling from another District of Columbia judge on whether its popular search engine constitutes an illegal monopoly.

The hearing will take place on September 9.