Microsoft moves to close depositions
C|Net | at | by Mike
Microsoft filed a motion that, if successful, would bar the public from access to any future depositions in its antitrust case, but The New York Times and other media organizations will likely oppose it. The Redmond, Wash.-based software behemoth filed a motion Wednesday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to vacate a standing order in an ongoing antitrust case maintained by 10 states and the District of Columbia. The case grew out of a case originally brought by the Department of Justice.
Under the order, granted in August 1998, the public was allowed to see and/or read seven depositions taken in the original case, including the deposition of Chairman Bill Gates. A deposition is sworn oral testimony generally only available to the parties in the action.