MS, Calif. $1.1bn Settlement Approved

A $1.1 billion settlement against Microsoft was allowed to proceed earlier this week after a California appeals court dismissed a challenge by a plaintiff in the case. Under the settlement, a third of the unclaimed vouchers would be returned to Microsoft, while the rest would be given to California schools.

The original ruling was handed down by a San Francisco Superior Court in July 2003, and found Microsoft guilty of overcharging California consumers for its Windows operating system. Vouchers ranging from $5 to $29 were to be distributed among those who made a claim.

Plaintiff Charles Jakob objected to the ruling, however, demanding that the remaining third should be redistributed among those filing claims, not Microsoft. The court disagreed.

"We affirm because the trial court did not abuse its discretion in determining the cy près provisions were fair, adequate and reasonable," the court wrote in its opinion. "The judgment is affirmed."

Cy près, in terms of class action settlements, refers to when it is not possible to directly distribute funds to all members of the class. Instead, the money is given to an organization or entity that the public would see benefit from -- in this case California schools.