The U.S. Department of Justice is supporting a South Florida startup's antitrust lawsuit against the state bar, adding its voice to a growing debate over how the bar views legal tech companies.

The Justice Department's Antitrust Division wrote in support of Tikd, a Coral Gables-based company that contracts attorneys to fight minor traffic tickets for drivers who submit them via a smartphone platform. Main Justice's statement of interest Monday said the Florida Bar is incorrectly claiming immunity from the lawsuit as an arm of the state's judicial branch.

The statement of interest was filed by Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch, and antitrust attorneys Kristen Limarzi, Robert Nicholson and Steven Mintz.

The filing also took a broad view of the battle between Tikd and the bar, which has captured the attention of attorneys as technology companies run by nonlawyers move into the traditional realm of law firms.

“To be sure, new and innovative mobile device apps can be disruptive,” the Justice Department wrote. “Business models entrenched for decades have witnessed new competition from mobile platforms that can profoundly change an industry. But almost invariably, the winners from the process of innovation and competition are consumers.”

The Tikd tiff arose after the 30-year-old Florida law firm The Ticket Clinic objected to the startup's business model, including its promise to pay fines in any cases it loses, which attorneys are not allowed to do. After an investigation, the Florida Bar brought litigation against Tikd for the unlicensed practice of law.

That case is pending before the Florida Supreme Court. In the meantime, Tikd sued the bar and the Ticket Clinic in Miami federal court for antitrust violations, alleging they conspired to drive Tikd out of business.

The bar argues it should be dismissed from the case because of state-action immunity. The Justice Department said that position is contrary to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission. The justices laid out factors required for immunity to apply, which DOJ said would have to be scrutinized later in the case, not at the motion to dismiss stage.

Pete Kennedy, a shareholder in Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody in Austin

Tikd said it did not ask the Justice Department to take a position on the case, and the startup's attorney Pete Kennedy was surprised to hear from the government.

“This is a big deal,” Kennedy, a shareholder at Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody in Austin, Texas, said in a statement. “The federal government rarely joins a lawsuit to support one side over the other. I am very pleased to see that the DOJ's Antitrust Division recognizes the significance of this lawsuit and supports Tikd's efforts to increase competition, reduce prices, and improve access to legal services for consumers.”

The Florida Bar declined to comment.

The case is before U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke in Miami.

Read the Justice Department's statement of interest below: