Microsoft Pays A Mere $511M in Legal Fees
Lawyer Blogs
Legal payouts of $511 million in one year would be enough to sink many companies. But for Microsoft, it amounts to a small victory.
That's what the Redmond company paid in legal settlements and related expenses in its fiscal year 2007, ended June 30. It was Microsoft's lowest total in years -- down from about $2.3 billion in payouts two years earlier.
But with cases still pending, most notably in Europe, it's not clear if the trend will continue.
The $511 million total for the year included payments in antitrust and unfair-competition class actions, intellectual property claims and a payment to extend a patent agreement with Sun Microsystems, Microsoft said in an Aug. 3 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
During the year, the company's highest-profile antitrust payout was the settlement of a consumer class-action suit in Iowa. Microsoft agreed to pay up to $180 million in that case.
In one sign of the change, legal subjects were barely mentioned during Microsoft's annual meeting with financial analysts in Redmond last month. In years past, antitrust issues weighed more heavily on the minds of analysts.
Related listings
-
Qantas May Face Big US Fines
Lawyer Blogs 08/13/2007[##_1L|1351888955.png|width="201" height="201" alt=""|_##]QANTAS has admitted it may have to shell out far more than the $47 million set aside to pay potential fines and damages that could arise from a United States price-fixing investigation. Managi...
-
Former Corrections Officer Sentenced to 21 Months
Lawyer Blogs 08/13/2007Ricky Bernard, a former Bureau of Prisons corrections officer at the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for engaging in sexual misconduct with three inmates. Bernard previously pleaded guilty in federal co...
-
U.S. court upholds ban on some DirecTV ads
Lawyer Blogs 08/10/2007[##_1L|1128374550.jpg|width="120" height="93" alt=""|_##]A U.S. appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower court's decision that prohibits satellite television operator DirecTV Group Inc from airing TV advertisements that claimed superior service in ma...
New York Commercial Litigation Law Firm - Woods Lonergan PLLC
Founded in 1993 by Managing Partner James F. Woods, Woods Lonergan PLLC has built a strong reputation as a resourceful and industrious firm that provides clients with clear, concise, and straightforward answers to their most challenging legal issues. Partner Lawrence R. Lonergan, who joined the firm in 2008, has been a friend and colleague to Mr. Woods for over 40 years and shares the same business philosophy. Woods Lonergan PLLC’s collective experience and expertise enables the firm to expeditiously and effectively analyze the increasing challenges clients face in an evolving business and legal world, in many instances, avoiding unnecessary time and expense to our clients. Our mission is simple: provide cutting-edge expertise and sound advice in select areas of the law for corporate and business clients. We thrive on providing each client with personalized attention, forceful representation, and a collaborative team effort that embraces collective knowledge.