# State v. Google, LLC

Supreme Court of Texas, No. 25-0172

**State v. Google, LLC, No. 25-0172, is before the Supreme Court of Texas. Key issue: The Court granted the State of Texas's petition for review in its deceptive-trade-practices suit against Google and, on an agreed motion after settlement and without argument or considering the merits, vacated the court of appeals' judgment and remanded for rendition of judgment under the parties' settlement agreement; Justice Sullivan did not participate.**

Practice areas: civil procedure, federal constitution

## Key issues

- The Court granted the State of Texas's petition for review in its deceptive-trade-practices suit against Google and, on an agreed motion after settlement and without argument or considering the merits, vacated the court of appeals' judgment and remanded for rendition of judgment under the parties' settlement agreement; Justice Sullivan did not participate.
- The petition asked whether Google is subject to specific personal jurisdiction in Texas for allegedly deceptive collection of Texans' location and browsing data, and whether a court of appeals may limit its inquiry to the State's pleading when reviewing a special appearance.

## Factual History
The State sued Google under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act alleging it deceptively collected data from Texans through Android, Chrome and other services, for example by telling users that turning off "Location History" would stop location tracking while continuing to gather similar data through "Web & App Activity," and by tracking activity in Chrome's Incognito Mode. Google offers products to millions of Texans, has a Midlothian data center and about a million square feet of Texas office space, and had Texas revenue of more than $10.5 billion in 2021 (Petition for Review, PDF pp. 11-13).

## Procedural History
Google filed a special appearance arguing that the alleged misrepresentations originated outside Texas and were not directed at Texas. After jurisdictional discovery and a hearing the Victoria County trial court denied the special appearance, and the Thirteenth Court of Appeals reversed and dismissed, holding the evidence showed Google's employees directed the alleged misleading statements from afar. The State petitioned in February 2025, the case was abated repeatedly on joint motions from July through September 2025, and on October 24, 2025 the Court lifted the abatement, reinstated the petition and granted the agreed motion.

## Issues Presented
Whether the Thirteenth Court erred in holding Google not subject to personal jurisdiction in Texas because one part of its alleged conduct occurred in California, and whether it erred by limiting its inquiry to the State's operative petition, ignoring evidence offered in response to the special appearance (Petition for Review, PDF p. 9).

## Legal Arguments
**State of Texas (Petitioner):** the decision conflicts with Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, which does not require strict causation between forum contacts and claims, and with State v. Volkswagen, under which a defendant that crafts misrepresentations abroad for use in Texas is subject to jurisdiction. **Google (Respondent):** its alleged statements originated outside Texas and were publicly available, not specific to or directed at Texas; no response to the petition is in the file reviewed (Petition for Review, PDF pp. 14-16).

## Stated Reasons the Court Should Take the Case
The State argued the decision would let other defendants avoid accountability for violating Texas law and would force the Attorney General to seek relief in California courts, and that the case is an opportunity to clarify special-appearance procedure and resolve a split among the courts of appeals (Petition for Review, PDF pp. 11, 15-16).

## Practice Area Tags
civil-procedure, federal-constitution

## Procedural Posture/Vehicle
Petition for review from the Thirteenth Court of Appeals in an interlocutory appeal from the denial of a special appearance; granted, judgment vacated, and case remanded for rendition of judgment on the parties' settlement under Rule 56.3, October 24, 2025.

## Amicus Involvement
None noted

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Source: The SCOTX Report, https://scotxreport.com/cases/25-0172. AI-generated summary of the Court's opinion, orders and the parties' briefs, with pin cites to the page of each document; verify against the Court's own documents at search.txcourts.gov.