T
Tom
http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/4856517.html
Microsoft to pay up to $241.4 million to settle Minnesota suit
Associated Press
July 1, 2004
Microsoft Corp. will pay up to $241.4 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by Minnesota computer users who claimed the software company overcharged them.
The settlement outlined in court for the first time on Thursday includes $174.5 million for consumers and attorneys fees capped at $59.4 millon. The final attorney's fees will have to be approved by Hennepin County District Court Judge Bruce Peterson, who preliminarily approved the rest of the settlement on Thursday.
Microsoft admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.
``It's a great settlement. We did some good here,'' said plaintiff's attorney Daniel Hume. The plaintiffs have claimed that at least one million Minnesota consumers and businesses will be eligible for the settlement.
Consumers will be notified as early as Tuesday that they will qualify for vouchers to buy computer equipment. Unused settlement money will go to the state education department to be distributed to individual school districts for technology programs.
The settlement also earmarks $2.5 million each for the Minnesota Legal Aid Society and the University of Minnesota's Institute of Technology, and another $2.5 million in vouchers for the institute.
The Minnesota lawsuit alleged that Microsoft had violated state antitrust law by overcharging for its Windows operating system and its Excel and Word programs. The company had denied overcharging, saying the prices on its products had dropped.
When the trial began in March it was the first state-level class action suit against Microsoft to go to trial. The trial ended when the settlement was announced in April.
Microsoft to pay up to $241.4 million to settle Minnesota suit
Associated Press
July 1, 2004
Microsoft Corp. will pay up to $241.4 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by Minnesota computer users who claimed the software company overcharged them.
The settlement outlined in court for the first time on Thursday includes $174.5 million for consumers and attorneys fees capped at $59.4 millon. The final attorney's fees will have to be approved by Hennepin County District Court Judge Bruce Peterson, who preliminarily approved the rest of the settlement on Thursday.
Microsoft admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.
``It's a great settlement. We did some good here,'' said plaintiff's attorney Daniel Hume. The plaintiffs have claimed that at least one million Minnesota consumers and businesses will be eligible for the settlement.
Consumers will be notified as early as Tuesday that they will qualify for vouchers to buy computer equipment. Unused settlement money will go to the state education department to be distributed to individual school districts for technology programs.
The settlement also earmarks $2.5 million each for the Minnesota Legal Aid Society and the University of Minnesota's Institute of Technology, and another $2.5 million in vouchers for the institute.
The Minnesota lawsuit alleged that Microsoft had violated state antitrust law by overcharging for its Windows operating system and its Excel and Word programs. The company had denied overcharging, saying the prices on its products had dropped.
When the trial began in March it was the first state-level class action suit against Microsoft to go to trial. The trial ended when the settlement was announced in April.