Microsoft said on Friday it would pay consumers of its software up to $64 million to settle a class action lawsuit contending that it overcharged for its products. The settlement, which was previously announced with other agreements to settle with four other states and the District of Columbia last month, are part of the world's largest software maker's efforts to resolve all of its legal issues stemming from its antitrust agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice last year. Under the settlement with the state of Tennessee, Microsoft said it would pay members of the class action lawsuit vouchers that can used to buy software or hardware from any manufacturer.
The 20th Judicial District in Davidson County, at Nashville, Tennessee, gave preliminary approval to the settlement. One half of the money for unclaimed vouchers will be donated to schools in Tennessee to buy computer hardware or software, Microsoft said in a statement. Earlier this month, Microsoft announced class action settlements with several U.S. states worth a total of $200 million. The class actions claimed Microsoft used its Windows monopoly to thwart competition and overcharge customers for its software. Class-action lawsuits are still pending in five states: Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Wisconsin.
News source: Reuters
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