Continuing a string of settlements, Microsoft said it
will make available as much as $31.5m (£17.2m) in vouchers to end a
class-action lawsuit in New Mexico.
Under the settlement, preliminarily approved by a New Mexico
court last week, consumers in the state who bought certain
Microsoft products during a specified period will be eligible to
receive vouchers that can be used to buy computer hardware and
software, Microsoft said.
Half of any unclaimed settlement money will go to needy public
schools in New Mexico in the form of vouchers, Microsoft said. In
addition, if a customer claims a voucher but does not use it by the
expiration date, half the value of the voucher will still go to the
schools, the software manufacturer said.
The suit alleged that Microsoft abused its Windows monopoly to
overcharge customers in the state for its software. The settlement
is similar to ones Microsoft reached in 14 other US states. In all
the settlements, Microsoft denies any wrongdoing.
Class-action cases in which Microsoft is accused of overcharging
for its software are still pending in four other states.
The private cases followed a federal court finding that
Microsoft had abused its monopoly status in the desktop operating
system market to the detriment of consumers. A settlement in the
federal case was approved in late 2002.
In New Mexico, consumers and businesses who bought certain
Microsoft operating system, productivity suite, spreadsheet or word
processing software for use in New Mexico between 8 December 1995
and 31 December 2002, will be eligible to apply for the
vouchers.
For details on any of the Microsoft consumer class action
settlements, see:
http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/legal/class/
Joris Evers writes for IDG News Service