Microsoft asks court to dismiss Vista Incapable lawsuit

MICROSOFT ASKED on Thursday for the US District Court judge presiding over the 'Vista Capable' class action lawsuit to decertify the class action and dismiss the plaintiffs' claim.

The Vole's management downgraded the company's 'Vista Capable' PC specifications early in 2006 to enable manufacturers to use the marketing logo on computers that were capable of running only Vista Home Basic but not the other versions that included the slick-looking Aero graphical user interface and other premium features.

The plaintiffs allege that Microsoft's 'Vista Capable' marketing programme had the effect of unfairly misleading consumers, violating the Washington Consumer Protection Act, and that Microsoft unfairly profited from its behaviour because the confusing label drove up demand for, and therefore the prices of, PCs that were misleadingly tagged as being 'Vista Capable'.

Federal Judge Marsha Pechman had certified the lawsuit as a class action in February 2008, but she dismissed the plaintiffs' claim that Microsoft's 'Vista Capable' label deceived punters into splashing out for lower-end PCs that they would not have bought otherwise. She left standing the plaintiffs' claim that Microsoft's actions had illegally driven up prices on low-grade PCs.

Discovery proceedings in the lawsuit have revealed a number of emails embarrassing to Microsoft regarding its decision to downgrade 'Vista Capable' PC specifications, which helped Intel to avoid potential losses while betraying promises Microsoft had previously made to Hewlett-Packard and other PC vendors.

In one motion, Microsoft asked that the court decertify the class, which would force the named plaintiffs to sue the company individually. With another motion, Microsoft asked for a summary judgement to dismiss the plaintiffs' sole remaining cause of action, which would effectively end the case.

Microsoft attacked the plaintiffs' view that Vista Home Basic isn't really Vista because it lacks the Aero graphical user interface and other features that are common to the rest of the Windows Vista line:

"The fact that Windows Vista Home Basic lacks some features available in premium editions of Windows Vista (as Microsoft always disclosed) shows only that Microsoft properly markets Windows Vista Home Basic as a distinct budget edition," the motion said. "Windows Vista Home Basic falls well within the Windows Vista family as a technical matter."

The company also disputed the plaintiffs' arguments that its revenues that Windows Vista generated from sales of 'Vista Capable' PCs were attributable to increased sales of PCs because of the marketing programme and that the 'Vista Capable' labels had the effect of inflating low-end PC prices.

The Vole's motion concludes, "Because it is clear that Plaintiffs cannot prove any element of their 'price inflation' theory, Microsoft moves for summary judgment."

It's apparently not known whether Judge Pechman might call for a hearing before ruling on Microsoft's motion for dismissal. µ

See Also
Microsoft's downgrade of Vista Capable specs ticked off HP
Ballmer ducks Vista Capable court appearance
Microsoft loses Vista Capable appeal
Microsoft gets Vista unready case put on hold
Best Buy forced Vole into Vista capable fiasco
Micro soft wants to freeze Vista incapable lawsuit
Microsoft knew Vista was unready - report
'Vista Capable class action lawsuit gets certified
Vole proves Vista incapable

L'Inq
Computerworld