Consumers filed two more federal antitrust suits against Microsoft Corp. this week, including one before the same judge overseeing the U.S. Department of Justice's case against the vendor.
Paul Deiter, a Microsoft user in Washington, filed a class action lawsuit seeking an unspecified amount of money in damages. Like several suits recently filed against Microsoft, Deiter claims that the company consistently overcharged for Windows software. He has asked for a jury trial.
Likewise, two Microsoft customers in San Diego filed a suit in U.S. District Court there, seeking class action status.
Microsoft called the complaints unfounded.
Legal experts expect the rash of consumer antitrust suits to be consolidated into one big action-like the lawsuits against tobacco companies.
Combining them would make the evidence discovery process simpler, said Bob Roden, a lawyer at Shelby &Cartee LLC in Birmingham, Ala.
Roden recently filed a suit on behalf of Blaine Cox and other Alabama consumers.
For more enterprise computing news, visit Computerworld online. Story copyright © 1999 Computerworld, Inc. All rights reserved.
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