Lawsuit Details

On June 18, 2003 , a settlement was reached between Microsoft ® and the state of California as a result of 27 coordinated anti-trust lawsuits. The terms of the settlement require Microsoft ® to pay out $1.1 billion in refunds to California consumers and businesses who purchased certain Microsoft ® products between 1995 and 2001. The settlement allows Californians to claim the following amount per product purchased:

• Microsoft ® Windows: $16
• Microsoft ® Word: $5
• Microsoft ® Excel: $26
• Microsoft ® Office: $29
• Microsoft ® Works Suite: $5
• Microsoft ® Home Essentials 97 or 98: $5

All of the above amounts are for Windows versions only. Mac OS software is not included under the settlement.

More Information:

• Microsoft-California Settlement Administrator. The official site of the settlement administrator. Go here for the text of the settlement, copies of the lawsuit, and other legal documents.
• Townsend, Townsend, & Crew. TTC acted as plaintiff's lead counsel for the state of California in this class action suit. More lawsuit information is available here.
• Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein. Lead counsel for the Florida anti-trust case. Currently pursuing cases in Arizona , the District of Columbia , Florida , Minnesota , New Mexico , New York , North Carolina , and Tennessee .
• Florida Settlement Home Page. Information on the Florida/Microsoft anti-trust settlement.