Finding Commonality In A Uniform Click-Through Agreement

A recent California federal court decision denied certification to a putative class of Facebook "cost-per-click" advertisers who allegedly were charged by Facebook for fraudulent or invalid clicks on their advertisements. The decision, while illustrating the difficulty in obtaining class certification when litigating under a contract whose terms cannot be easily defined, arguably clouds the standards governing class certification in a uniform contract case.

In In re Facebook, Inc. PPC Advertising Litigation, the named plaintiffs entered into cost-per-click contracts with Facebook, in which the advertiser pays a fee to Facebook each time a user clicks on the advertisement. The plaintiffs claim that they were charged improperly for clicks in which the user attempted unsuccessfully to reach the advertisement, unintentional multiple clicks from a user in rapid succession, clicks made in a deliberate effort to drive up the cost of an advertisement, and various other types