Group Planning to Sue Microsoft, U.S. Agency

An antitrust research group said it plans to file a lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. and the Justice Department, alleging that both failed to fully disclose contacts that led to a proposed settlement of the case against the software giant.

The American Antitrust Institute has set a news conference for today to release details of its suit and a request that the judge overseeing the remainder of the antitrust case wait for full disclosure of the communications before passing judgment on the settlement.

The Justice Department and nine states have agreed to the settlement, which is subject to judicial review under the Tunney Act.

The institute said Microsoft and the Justice Department “have deliberately avoided the disclosure requirements of the Tunney Act process or offered incomplete or misleading information.”

Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler said, “We’ve made the disclosures required by the Tunney Act, and we look forward to court review of the settlement.”

A Justice Department spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.