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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Greenhill who wrote (34807)	11/24/1999 6:50:00 PM
From: J. P.	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

Florida Suit Filed Against Microsoft dailynews.yahoo.com NEW YORK (Reuters) - Florida lawyers on Wednesday filed the latest in a series of class action suits against Microsoft Corp., alleging the software company overcharged for its Windows 95 operating system after the updated Windows 98 version was released. The suit, filed in Miami-Dade County judicial court, accuses Microsoft (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news) of one count of violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act as well as federal antitrust laws. It seeks to collect damages that have yet to be specified. ``Microsoft has used its monopoly power to charge illegal monopoly prices,' the suit states, adding that Microsoft used its power to ``artificially maintain' the price of Windows 95 even after the newer, Windows 98 version was on the market. The suit is based in part on findings of fact by a federal judge in Washington who found Microsoft used monopoly power to harm consumers, competitors and other companies. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson has issued no conclusions of law. The Florida suit also cites a November 1997 market study by Microsoft that determined the company could charge $49 for a software upgrade from Windows 95 to Windows 98, but that the company opted to charge as much as $89 for the upgrade. ``We think it's unfortunate for consumers and the economy that these kinds of groundless lawsuits are being threatened against an American company that has consistently worked to provide great value for consumers and driven prices down in the industry,' Adam Sohn, a spokesman for Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft, told Reuters. On Monday, lawyers in San Francisco filed a class action suit followed by a similar suit filed in Ohio on Tuesday, both of which allege Microsoft overcharged customers. The San Francisco suit seeks to recover damages on behalf of its clients. ``None of the court's findings that everyone seems to be hanging their hats on have any legal weight on any other cases until the court issues a decision sometime next year and the appeals may extend that out further,' Sohn said. ``We are pretty confident that the American legal system is ultimately going to affirm that our actions have been fair, legal and good for consumers,' he added. The Florida suit was filed by Haggard & Parks, P.A., in Coral Gables, Fla.