Judge orders Microsoft to pay state’s attorneys’ fees

Massachusetts would receive nearly $1 million in attorneys’ fees in its ongoing antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft under a federal judge’s order, but that’s less than half of what the state had asked for.

Massachusetts would receive nearly $1 million in attorneys’ fees in its ongoing antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft under a federal judge’s order, but that’s less than half of what the state had asked for.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled Monday that Microsoft must pay Massachusetts, the lone remaining state appealing the judge’s November 2002 antitrust ruling, attorneys’ fees in the amount of $967,014.52 for the costs associated with the state’s antitrust lawsuit against the software giant. Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly noted in a press release that the state had spent six years on the Microsoft antitrust trial, and the judge’s award ends nine months of legal wrangling over the attorneys’ fees.

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office had asked for $1,992,075 in attorneys’ fees and another $20,302.72 in other expenses and costs. Kollar-Kotelly rejected all of Massachusetts’ request for expenses and costs. Microsoft argued that Massachusetts shouldn’t be entitled to the attorney’s fees for the parts of the antitrust lawsuit it didn’t win. The software vendor also said Massachusetts didn’t keep detailed enough records on some of its claims for court costs.

Kollar-Kotelly agreed in part, writing in her 63-page ruling that the state’s “haphazard and incomplete invocation of Massachusetts law” required her to “decipher the legal and factual basis” for the attorneys’ fees request.

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office didn’t have an immediate comment on the judge’s comments on its record-keeping, but Reilly said in his statement he was happy with the results. The fees awarded to the state were calculated based on the prevailing billing rates for antitrust lawyers in the Washington, D.C., area, as is permitted by law, rather than the actual salaries of state assistant attorneys general, Reilly said.

“I am pleased that Microsoft will pay for the costs associated with this antitrust action and look forward to upcoming arguments in federal appeals court,” Reilly said in his statement. “This case has serious implications for competition and consumers and will have a significant impact on the future direction of our economy.”

Microsoft also issued a statement on the judge’s ruling. “We are pleased with the court’s opinion to reduce Massachusetts’ request for legal fees by over 50%,” the statement said.

“We respectfully disagreed with Massachusetts’ request for fees on the basis that they did not prevail on the vast majority of their original claims. Our priority is to move past this case and to build more constructive relationships with state governments.”