Ruling delayed on huge Microsoft attorney fees
Published:
14 May 2004 y., Friday
Lawyers who persuaded Microsoft to settle their class-action lawsuit accusing the company of price-fixing are asking for $258 million in legal fees, the largest amount ever in an antitrust case.
At a hearing Wednesday where a decision was expected, San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Paul Alvarado said he would rule as soon as practically possible. The judge, without hearing arguments, said he was "not prepared" to say "what I'm going to do."
The lawyers' bill comes as attorney fees are being examined critically by the American Bar Association and lawmakers across the country. It amounts to about $3,000 an hour for one lawyer, more than $2,000 an hour each for 34 other attorneys and $1,000 an hour for administrative work.
Microsoft agreed to the settlement — allocating $1.1 billion for California consumers — after a small San Francisco law firm sued in state court alleging the company inflated prices by monopolizing the pre-installed software market from 1995 to 2001.
But Microsoft could end up spending much less. The deal enables anyone who bought a computer in California to get vouchers worth $5 to $29 per Microsoft product, but only a small fraction of the millions eligible have applied for the money. Two-thirds of the unused settlement, however, is earmarked for poor California schools.
Šaltinis:
usatoday.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Software company announced new structure_ of it_s business.
more »
Wincor Nixdorf AG has opened a global distribution center in Singapore to support its growing operations in Asia Pacific.
more »
Over 3 million people in Europe bet online on sports like football, cricket and horse racing.
more »
Executives from Wincor Nixdorf Inc. (USA) hosted a bankers' forum last month, highlighting emerging trends in a challenging U.S. economic environment.
more »
The appeal for a reverse ATM code has again popped up in mainstream press, this time in Illinois, where the (Peoria, Ill.) Journal Star last week reported about a technology that has been discussed in the industry for several years, yet fails to take off.
more »
At the CeBIT fair grounds in Hanover, Germany, you move into a different realm. One with robots - lots of bots.
more »
During the 10th annual ATM Industry Association conference last month, ATMIA and ATM Marketplace recognized four leading ATM players for their individual or combined contributions to the ATM Industry.
more »
The show held annually in the northern German city of Hannover usually invites a foreign nation to become an official partner, but in a historic move that distinction was granted to the State of California this year.
more »
After a six-month research project that involved the surveying of some 1,600 ATM and financial executives from throughout the world, ATM Marketplace and the ATM Industry Association have announced plans to release the findings of their research next month.
more »
Technology Credit Union has teamed with LocatorSearch to introduce a global positioning system (GPS) download to help members find surcharge-free ATMs.
more »
It's easy to demonise violent video games, but a report making its way through parliament says that "video games can have beneficial effects upon young people."
more »