MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. (Feb. 8, 2018) – A $395 million settlement with Microsoft was reached on behalf clients in Canada supported by Hellmuth & Johnson. The settlement was part of an antitrust class action suit on behalf of Canadian consumers and businesses that indirectly purchased Microsoft operating systems and spreadsheet and word processing software between 1998 and 2010.
The allegations against Microsoft included a wide range of anticompetitive conduct to protect the company’s monopoly power in the operating system and work productivity applications software markets. The result of these actions allowed Microsoft to overcharge consumers who purchased Microsoft software products, the plaintiffs alleged.
As part of this case, Hellmuth & Johnson served as counsel of record in U.S.-based discovery proceedings relating to securing evidence from former Microsoft executives – including Steve Ballmer, Ray Ozzie, and Jim Allchin – and relevant third-party software providers for use in the Canadian proceedings.
The Microsoft Canada case was filed in December 2004 and concludes multiple Microsoft class actions that Hellmuth & Johnson partner Richard Hagstrom filed – the first of which began in 1999. The settlement amounts for his work in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, combined with the Canada settlement, now total more than $1 billion.
Hellmuth & Johnson
Hellmuth & Johnson, a Top 20 Minnesota law firm, represents clients ranging from individuals and emerging start-ups to multinational Fortune 500 companies. Focusing on transactional law, litigation and appeals, Hellmuth & Johnson attorneys are leaders in their fields. Founded in 1994, Hellmuth & Johnson has become one of Minnesota’s fastest growing law firms. Learn more at www.hjlawfirm.com.
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