Judge Dismisses Some Microsoft Lawsuits

A federal judge granted a motion by Microsoft Corp. to throw out five of the consumer antitrust lawsuits filed against the company in four states.

U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz in Baltimore struck down lawsuits filed in Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland and Oklahoma, saying laws in those states do not allow consumers to collect damages from Microsoft unless they purchased software directly from the company.

The cases are part of a slew of class-action lawsuits filed against Microsoft on behalf of consumers after the government’s landmark antitrust case against the company.