Microsoft Moves on Class Actions

Microsoft(MSFT) announced Tuesday it has settled class-action lawsuits in five states and the District of Columbia for $200 million, removing yet another obstacle to the cash-rich software maker increasing its dividend.

Of the six settlements, Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith said two suits -- in the District of Columbia and Kansas -- have been granted preliminary approval. The Kansas suit will cost Microsoft $32 million, while the D.C. case will cost $6.2 million -- figures that are based on the population size of PC users in each area.

The four other settlements -- in North Carolina, Tennessee, North Dakota and South Dakota -- are still awaiting preliminary court approval and therefore more details were not yet disclosed. But Smith said all of the settlements have been structured to provide benefits to needy school students as well as purchases of Microsoft software.

Under the terms of the settlements, Microsoft provides vouchers to people who bought Microsoft software that will enable them to buy software made by any manufacturer for both PCs and Macintosh computers. Because a portion of such payouts typically go unclaimed, Microsoft has also agreed to give the unclaimed portion to schools to buy hardware, software or technical training.

At one time, more than 100 federal and state class-action lawsuits were filed claiming Microsoft used its market dominance to charge unfair prices for its Window operating system software. The federal cases were consolidated and ultimately resolved in September, while Microsoft has won dismissals or denials of class certification in 18 state cases. The six that were settled are among the 15 state suits that are still moving through the courts.

The settlements announced Tuesday bring to 10 the total number of state class-action antitrust cases settled by Microsoft, worth a total of $1.55 billion. Microsoft is still fighting cases in five states -- Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico and Wisconsin.

"We are over halfway toward resolving our consumer class-action lawsuits," Smith said in a conference call.