[Am-info] Judge Kills Microsoft Private Suit Settlement

[Mitch Stone]

Friday January 11 2:44 PM ET 

Judge Kills Microsoft Private Suit Settlement

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday scuttled Microsoft 
Corp.'s (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) proposed multimillion-dollar settlement of 
the class-action antitrust suits filed against the software company.

U.S. District Court Judge J. Frederick Motz said he could not endorse the 
settlement even though it would have committed Microsoft to spend 
hundreds of millions of dollars on software and computers for poor 
schools.

The ruling means Microsoft will have to start from scratch in negotiating 
a new settlement or fight the scores of suits in court.

The settlement would have resolved more than 100 class- action antitrust 
cases pending against Microsoft. Class-action attorneys from California 
have argued the money should be reimbursed directly to customers who were 
overcharged for Microsoft software.