O.C. Consumer Sues Microsoft; Suit Seeks Class-Action Status

Microsoft Corp. is being sued by an Orange County resident who bought one of its personal-computer operating systems and now claims that the world’s largest software maker illegally hurt competition and drove up prices.

The suit, filed Monday in Superior Court in Santa Ana, accuses Microsoft of violating state antitrust law and seeks class-action status on behalf of all California consumers who bought Microsoft operating-system software in the last four years. It was the latest claim to follow a federal judge’s ruling that the company holds a monopoly.

Michael R. Wilson, who filed the suit, claims Microsoft illegally took steps to harm potential competitors, boosting product prices for consumers.

Wilson bought a licensed copy of Windows 98 from CompUSA in February for $89, the suit said. To get on to the Microsoft Network, say Wilson’s attorneys and the complaint, the software “contained several flaws, which Microsoft required users to pay to repair.”

The amount of money sought in damages for the allegedly overpriced software was not stated. Wilson’s attorneys estimate there will be more than a million consumers--and therefore, potential members of the class-action suit--who were affected in California.

“This is a necessary adjunct to [the federal judge’s ruling] to get money back to consumers,” said Wilson’s attorney Alan M. Mansfield of Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach in San Diego. The government’s case will “bring about penalties and certain injunctive measures . . . but not money back to the consumers.”

Wilson could not be reached for comment. His attorneys declined to say what city he lives in.

Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan said the company hasn’t received the filing yet, though he noted that its Windows operating system is cheaper than its current competition.

“It’s unfortunate in the wake of one step in a long process that plaintiffs’ lawyers seek to file baseless lawsuits,” said Cullinan, declining to comment further.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson on Nov. 5 found that Microsoft “stifled innovation” by using its dominance in personal computer operating systems to quash rivals.

Jackson’s factual findings in an antitrust suit brought by the U.S. Justice Department and 19 states stopped short of saying Microsoft violated antitrust laws, though they suggest he’s likely to make that conclusion. The judge would then decide what remedies to impose on Microsoft.

Shares in Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., fell $2.31 to close at $85 on Nasdaq.

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Bloomberg News was used in compiling this report.