Microsoft Settles Class-Action Lawsuit

Microsoft said yesterday that it has settled a class-action lawsuit brought by Minnesota customers who claimed the software giant overcharged them, violating state antitrust laws.

The world’s biggest software company said final terms of the settlement were still being worked out. The deal will be presented to the state court in early summer, company spokeswoman Stacy Drake said. She wouldn’t say if the settlement would affect earnings.

The settlement interrupted a jury trial that was expected to last several more weeks. Attorneys for the plaintiffs had said they were seeking as much as $505-million (U.S.) — and Minnesota law would have automatically tripled that, meaning Microsoft could have faced a potential payout of more than $1.5-billion, said Microsoft attorney David Tulchin.

Read the full story at Globe Technology.