Computer Software Industry News SampleFeb 2, 2006 12:00:16
MICROSOFT CORPORATION: Settlement Brings Windfall to MN Schools
MINNESOTA (SunStream News) -- Due to a court settlement with Microsoft Corp., Minnesota schools will share $55 million that they can use to buy new computers and software, The Associated Press reports.
Though schools have known since 2004 that they had some money coming their way, the final amount was up in the air until recently. Gov. Tim Pawlenty told The Associated Press that the technology vouchers have just started going out.
The governor explained, "With the fast-paced changes in the field of technology, it is often difficult for schools to keep pace. This money will allow them to update, and in many cases, expand their technology, which in turn will help students learn and achieve at higher levels."
The amount each school gets depends on the concentration of poverty in their school districts. Some will receive only a few thousand dollars, while others, like Minneapolis and St. Paul, are in line for more than $6 million each. School districts have until 2012 to use up the vouchers.
The money is left over from a settlement to a class-action lawsuit in which Minnesota customers and businesses claimed the Company was violating antitrust laws by overcharging for its Windows operating system and its Excel and Word programs. The company had denied the charges saying that the prices on its products had dropped.
In 2000, the Company faced a flurry of lawsuits back for using its market power to force customers to pay higher prices for its Windows operating system. Those federal cases were later consolidated in the United States District Court for Maryland. These cases allege that the Company competed unfairly and unlawfully monopolized alleged markets for operating systems and certain software applications, and they seek to recover alleged overcharges for these products. To date, courts have dismissed all claims for damages in cases brought against the Company by indirect purchasers under federal law and in 17 states. Nine of those state court decisions have been affirmed on appeal. An appeal of one of those state rulings is pending. There was no appeal in four states. Claims under federal law brought on behalf of foreign purchasers have been dismissed by the U.S. District Court in Maryland as have all claims brought on behalf of consumers seeking injunctive relief under federal law, (Class Action Reporter, Nov. 2, 2005).
The ruling on injunctive relief and the ruling dismissing the federal claims of indirect purchasers are currently on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, as is a ruling denying certification of certain proposed classes of U.S. direct purchasers. Courts in eleven states have ruled that indirect purchaser cases may proceed as class actions, while courts in two states have denied class certification, (Class Action Reporter, Nov. 2, 2005).
At the elementary school where Gov. Pawlenty detailed the payout, Principal Patricia Steingruebl was ecstatic to learn her school would be getting $55,000. She told The Associated Press that the school now spends about $2,000 a year on new technology. According to the principal, "We don't plan to spend that all at once." One priority, she said, will be new software to help teach reading.
The vouchers will automatically go to districts and they will be able to shop from a list of 1,500 hardware and software products, Richard Hagstrom, an attorney with a Minneapolis law firm involved in the case told The Associated Press. He added that offerings go beyond Microsoft products.ss/car
Source: Class Action Reporter
Publication Date: 2006-02-02
COY: MSFT
IND: STW
GEO: n-us-mn
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