Microsoft to pay out $1.1 billion

Californians will soon to receive their delayed payments from a Microsoft antitrust class-action settlement, according to a recent CNN article:

Beginning in August, Californians who have filed claims will receive vouchers that can be redeemed for cash during the next four years, said Richard Grossman, whose law firm represented plaintiffs in the class-action case.

A California court had approved the settlement in July 2004, but a single class member had held up distribution of the money over his objection that the agreement called for unclaimed benefits to go to the state’s public schools.

But lawyers said the California payouts got back on track after the man objecting to the settlement lost his appeals and missed a deadline last week to further argue his case.

Most similar agreements in other jurisdictions also call for unclaimed benefits to go to public schools, and some states have already begun distributing the settlement money.

Most California consumer claims total less than $100, but many could exceed that amount depending on how much software was purchased, Grossman said. The claims for businesses typically range from tens of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars, he said.