SEATTLE, June 23, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Seattle law firm Keller Rohrback, L.L.P., and its Phoenix, AZ affiliate, Keller Rohrback P.L.C. (www.krclassaction.com), announced today that Judge J. Frederick Motz of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland has preliminarily approved a settlement in the pending class action litigation brought by Daisy Mountain Fire District ("Plaintiff") on behalf of a class of all Arizona state and local governmental entities that purchased Microsoft operating systems and applications software between May 18, 1994 and December 31, 2008 (the "Class").
The preliminarily approved settlement will result in the payment of $4,415,258 by Microsoft Corp. ("Microsoft") (Nasdaq:MSFT) to the Class. The settlement funds will be allocated across Arizona state and local governmental entities. The litigation centered on allegations that Microsoft illegally obtained and maintained monopoly power in the market for operating systems and certain business productivity applications and used that power to charge higher prices for its MS/DOS and Windows operating systems and for several popular applications like Word, MS Office, and Excel. The Plaintiff alleged that Microsoft engaged in conduct that violated Arizona's state antitrust statutes and caused damage to all Arizona governmental entities that had bought such equipment after May 18, 1994 until December 31, 2008. Microsoft denied these allegations.
The preliminarily approved settlement gives each Arizona governmental entity its share of the settlement, in cash, to be used for the purchase of various computer equipment, not just Microsoft products. Because the litigation is a class action, the settlement is subject the Court's final approval after notice of the terms of the settlement has been provided to class members. Timing of the approval process is dependent on the Court's schedule. Notice will be provided to all involved Arizona governmental entities and they will have a period during which they can comment or object to any aspect of the preliminarily approved settlement, after which Judge Motz, who has overseen the private, state and federal litigation, concerning Microsoft's monopoly power, will decide whether the settlement is in the best interests of class members.
For questions or additional information, please contact attorneys Mark Griffin or Mark Samson at (800) 776-6044.