Microsoft 'overcharging' case hits court

The case that will pit the state of Minnesota against software heavyweight Microsoft on the issue of overcharging is expected to hit court today – with Gates and Ballmer due to turn up in the dock.

The class-action suit is being brought by a handful of consumers and businesses and claims that the Redmond giant overcharged almost 9.7 million residents of the state for its software and exploited its market position by bundling the Windows operating system with other assorted programmes, including Word.

The Minnesotans are seeking damages to the tune of between $283m and $425m – around $45 per person. Facing them across the courtroom floor will be Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, who could be called as witnesses by the prosecution, although in previous class action cases the pair sent in video-recorded testimonies.

It's not the first such case that Microsoft has been landed with – although the software behemoth has had a hit-and-miss record of walking free. One case, brought by the state of California, saw Gates and co landed with a $1.1bn payout while cases from Kentucky and Texas saw Microsoft acquitted of anti-competitive behaviour.

Previous victories, however, won't have an impact on this case, as settlements were reached with the individual states and Microsoft didn't admit any wrongdoing on its part, with a Microsoft spokeswoman saying that the settlement had been reached to avoid "the cost and uncertainty of trial". The Minnesota case is the first of its kind to actually come to court, when the two parties were unable to reach an agreement.

Other states are still waiting for their day in court over alleged antitrust misbehaviour – New Mexico and Arizona among them. The European Commission's monopoly abuse case is expected to be decided in the coming few weeks.

Microsoft is having none of it. A Microsoft spokeswoman told silicon.com that "no damages were warranted" and that the company is looking forward to proving its case in court. She added that when Microsoft entered the applications market it actually drove prices down.