This should see us move up a bit tomorrow unless the mkt tanks,,
NEW YORK, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O> and
the U.S. Justice Department have been summoned to Chicago on
Tuesday to begin settlement talks under a federal judge in
their landmark antitrust case, the New York Times reported on
Thursday.
Quoting a person close to the case, the Times said the
mediator -- Judge Richard Posner, who heads the 7th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago -- was expected to assess
quickly the chances of a settlement between the two sides.
The source was quoted as saying that a settlement would
most likely happen "by the end of January, or it won't happen."
The Times said the meeting would involve lawyers from
Microsoft, the Justice Department and 19 states involved in the
antitrust case, one of the biggest of the century. The
mediation talks are private.
Posner, a highly respected jurist, was appointed as
mediator last week by U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield
Jackson, who is presiding over the antitrust case.
The mediation offer came two weeks after Jackson, following
a 76-day trial in Washington, found that Microsoft used
monopoly power to harm consumers, competitors and other
companies.
The next step is to determine if the findings of fact
constitute a violation of antitrust law by Redmond,
Washington-based Microsoft, the world's leading software maker.
Jackson has set Feb. 22 to hear oral arguments if no
settlement is reached. |
