I found this in the Seattle Post:
'Vista Capable' lawsuit against Microsoft now a class action
By JOSEPH TARTAKOFF AND TODD BISHOP
P-I REPORTERS
In a blow to Microsoft Corp., a federal judge granted class-action status to a lawsuit late Friday alleging that Microsoft unjustly enriched itself by promoting PCs as "Windows Vista Capable" even when they could only run a bare-bones version of the operating system, called "Vista Home Basic."
The slogan was emblazoned on PCs during the 2006 holiday shopping season as part of a campaign by Microsoft to maintain sales of Windows XP computers after the launch of Windows Vista was delayed.
At a hearing two weeks ago, lawyers for Microsoft argued that because each consumer who bought a computer touted as "Windows Vista Capable" had different information at the time of purchase, the lawsuit should not be granted class-action status, while plaintiffs' lawyers said that all individuals who bought "Windows Vista Capable" PCs were united in that "each person in our class did not get what they paid for."
In her ruling, Judge Marsha Pechman granted class-action status, stating that "common issues predominate."
"These common issues ... are whether Vista Home Basic, in truth, can fairly be called 'Vista' and whether Microsoft's 'Windows Vista Capable' marketing campaign inflated demand market-wide for 'Windows Vista Capable' PCs," she wrote.
At the same time, though, Pechman narrowed the basis on which plaintiffs could move forward with their claims.
For instance, she said that the plaintiffs could not pursue a class-action lawsuit on the basis that consumers had been deceived because "an individualized analysis is necessary to determine what role Microsoft's 'Windows Vista Capable' marketing program played in each class members' purchasing decision."
However, she said it was appropriate for plaintiffs to argue as a class that Microsoft had artificially inflated demand -- and prices -- for computers only capable of running Vista Home Basic by marketing them as "Windows Vista Capable."
Pechman also said that the two consumers currently named as plaintiffs in the case could not also represent buyers who participated in a related Microsoft program called "Express Upgrade," which gave consumers the right to free or low-priced upgrades to Windows Vista after it came out. She said "injury" to those consumers was "correlated to the amount spent on the cost of the upgrade program, not the allegedly inflated price of the 'Windows Vista Capable' PCs."
But she said that plaintiffs could amend their complaint to include a named plaintiff who participated in that program.
Microsoft spokesman Jack Evans said in a statement, "We are currently reviewing the court's ruling. We believe the facts will show that Microsoft offered different versions of Windows Vista, including Windows Vista Home Basic, to meet the varied needs of our customers purchasing computers at different price points."
Jeff Thomas, an attorney at Gordon Tilden Thomas & Cordell, which is representing the plaintiffs, said his law firm would now go ahead and gather documents and depositions.
"Up until now, all of the discovery was up to the class motion. Now that the class has been certified, we'll have to get into more of the depositions and documents regarding the case itself," he said.
During the hearing two weeks ago, Jeffrey Tilden, another plaintiff attorney, quoted extensively from internal Microsoft e-mails that appeared to show that employees within Microsoft had misgivings about the "Windows Vista Capable" campaign.
This should force an entire re-write of the Windows OS
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