Advertisment

Judge dismisses 38 private antitrust cases vs. Microsoft

author-image
CIOL Bureau
New Update

BALTIMORE: A federal judge handed Microsoft Corp a partial victory against

its legal adversaries on Friday by dismissing 38 cases accusing the software

giant of overcharging on its Windows operating system.

Advertisment

US District Judge J Frederick Motz dismissed the private antitrust lawsuits

mainly because the plaintiffs had not purchased Windows directly from Microsoft,

but from personal computer makers such as Compaq Computer Corp. and Dell

Computer Corp.

The judge based his ruling on a legal precedent set down in a 1977 US Supreme

Court ruling which restricts damage claims against "antitrust

violators" by parties who are not direct customers of the defendant.

The 38 cases were among 61 antitrust suits against Microsoft that have been

consolidated in Motz's court. More than 130 civil antitrust cases have been

filed against the software maker.

A plaintiffs' attorney said the ruling would be appealed to the 4th US

Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. Microsoft had no immediate

comment on the ruling.

(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

tech-news