LAWFUEL – The Legal Newswire – A big payday could be on its way for lawyrs who took a class action lawsuit against Microsoft Corp.if the settlement gets final approval in Polk County District Court today.
AP report that Des Moines attorney Roxanne Conlin and Richard Hagstrom, an attorney with a Minneapolis law firm, are seeking $75 million in fees and costs, an amount believed by some legal experts to be a record in the state.
The lawsuit was filed in 2000 and has gone to the Iowa Supreme Court three times for various legal issues.
The lawsuit sought more than $330 million on behalf of Iowans who bought Microsoft computer software between 1994 and 2006. The lawsuit claimed Microsoft engaged in anticompetitive conduct that caused customers to pay more for software than they would have if there had been competition.
Microsoft settled the Iowa case for $179.95 million in April.
In court documents, Conlin and Hagstrom justify the amount of their compensation by saying they obtained a “unique” settlement for Iowans. The Iowa case includes significant cash payments while most other state settlements provided vouchers for computer equipment. The estimated settlement amount per resident — $61.49 — is higher than that of any other state, Conlin and Hagstrom said in court papers.
