Microsoft settles Arizona class-action suit

SAN FRANCISCO – Microsoft Corp. has reached a preliminary settlement in a class-action lawsuit in Arizona, which alleged that the company abused its Windows monopoly to overcharge customers in the state for its software.

The deal provides Arizona software buyers with up to $104.6 million in vouchers that can be used to buy computer hardware and software, Microsoft of Redmond, Washington, said in a statement Monday.

Eligible for vouchers are Arizona consumers who indirectly purchased certain Microsoft operating system, productivity suite, spreadsheet or word processing software between Jan. 12, 1996 and Dec. 31, 2002. Half of any unclaimed settlement money will go to needy public schools in Arizona in the form of vouchers, Microsoft said.

The settlement is similar to ones Microsoft reached with consumers in states including California, Tennessee, North Dakota, South Dakota and Kansas. In the Arizona settlement, as in the others, Microsoft denies any wrongdoing.

The private cases followed a federal court finding that Microsoft had abused its monopoly status in the desktop operating systems market to the detriment of consumers. A settlement in the federal case was approved late 2002.