Morgan & Morgan, a plaintiffs' law firm recognized for its nationwide presence and employing over 800 attorneys, has taken legal action against a marketing company based in New Jersey. The lawsuit, lodged in a state court in Orange County, Florida, on Friday, alleges that the marketing firm What If Holdings is manipulating Google search results to divert potential clients searching for Morgan & Morgan.
In this legal complaint, Morgan & Morgan asserts that What If Holdings is utilizing Google's "click-to-call" advertisement feature, for which they pay Google, to display their ads prominently in searches for the keywords "morgan and morgan." Upon encountering these ads, individuals seeking Morgan & Morgan services inadvertently dial a phone number that redirects them to What If Holdings instead. This deceptive tactic is claimed to allow What If Holdings to gather information about potential cases from callers, which is then sold as leads to other law firms.
Morgan & Morgan contend that beyond the loss of potential cases resulting from this tactic, they have incurred substantial expenses to counteract the damage caused by What If Holdings. Seeking reparation for the harm caused, Morgan & Morgan is pursuing damages exceeding $30,000.
What If Holdings, headquartered in Fort Lee, New Jersey, has not commented on the allegations. Similarly, while not participating in the legal proceedings, Google has yet to respond to requests for comments.
Morgan & Morgan's well-known advertising campaigns across various platforms, such as billboards, buses, and television, have contributed to its widespread recognition. Notably, this lawsuit against What If Holdings is not the first instance where Morgan & Morgan has taken legal action against companies allegedly encroaching upon its domain through Google advertisements. Court records reveal that Damien Prosser, a prominent figure in Morgan & Morgan's business litigation group representing the firm, has been involved in over 10 similar lawsuits concerning Google ads in the past seven years.
