Microsoft reaches settlement in Iowa

Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday settled a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of thousands of Iowans who bought the company’s programs between 1994 and 2006. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The lawsuit sought more than $330 million from Microsoft for allegedly engaging in monopolistic and anti-competitive conduct that caused customers to pay more for software than they would have if there had been competition.

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft denied the allegations, saying Iowa customers received quality products at fair prices.

On Wednesday, Polk County District Court Judge Scott Rosenberg ordered attorneys to refrain from disclosing details of the settlement until April.

The world’s largest software maker has faced 206 class-action lawsuits across the United States since 2000. The company said that 108 were consolidated in a federal antitrust case and that 96 stayed in state courts.

Most were dismissed or settled before trial.

Only two, the Iowa case and one in Minnesota, went to trial. The Minnesota case was settled after about two months into the trial.

Attorneys Roxanne Conlin and Rich Hagstrom filed the Iowa lawsuit in 2000.

“It was a mutual decision to settle, and you kind of have to see the cards lay down. That’s part of what happens for both sides,” Conlin said.

“You have to assess your risk, and you have to assess what’s in the best interest of your clients.”

Both sides agreed the settlement would include making money available to buy computers and software for Iowa schools.

In the Minnesota case, the lawyers sought more than $300 million from the company. During trial, the case settled for $174.5 million.

Lawyer fees were about $59.4 million, according to court documents. The six plaintiffs who brought the case received $5,000 each.