Microsoft Ordered to Pay $1 Million to Bristol

A federal judge has ordered Microsoft Corp. to pay $1 million in punitive damages to Bristol Technology Inc. for deceiving the small company during a dispute over a license to the Windows NT operating system. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Janet Hall came a little more than a year after a federal jury awarded privately held Bristol nominal damages of $1 in a six-week civil trial. “The deceptive conduct engaged in by Microsoft clearly rises to the level of reckless and wanton indifference to the harm it caused Bristol and others,” Hall wrote. Microsoft said it will appeal the decision. Microsoft shares closed up 38 cents at $70.19 on Nasdaq.