Suit settled here

An Arkansas judge has approved a proposed $90 million offer to settle a class-action suit against Google, but apparently not everything is settled.

Miller County, Arkansas, Judge Joe Griffin on Thursday approved Google's settlement offer - up to $60 million in online ad credits and $30 million in legal fees - to businesses that accused it of charging them for false clicks and not doing enough to prevent click fraud, reports Red Herring. The settlement is being contested, however, by another class action, filed in California.

Lane's Gifts and Collectibles, of Texarkana, Arkansas, filed the suit in February 2005 against Google as well as others, including Yahoo, AOL, and Netscape; those other defendants have not yet settled with the plaintiffs.

Brian Kabateck, a lawyer for plaintiffs in Los Angeles, has said the $60 million is "almost meaningless" - a mere half-cent credit for every $1 lost to click fraud.