Two Microsoft rivals rebuffed over court venue
seattlepi | at | by Mike
Antitrust cases brought against Microsoft Corp. by two rivals must be heard by a court that's already handling more than 100 other antitrust lawsuits against the software giant, a panel ruled last week. Those rivals, Sun Microsystems Inc. and Be Inc., had hoped to keep their cases in California, where they originated. But the Multi-District Litigation panel, which decides whether cases filed in different states should be heard by a single judge, last week ordered the cases transferred to U.S. District Judge Frederick Motz's Baltimore courtroom. An antitrust case filed by a third Microsoft opponent, America Online Inc., has already transferred to the Maryland federal court. Lawyers have said that the East Coast court is more conservative on antitrust issues, a leaning that could favor Microsoft, especially if the case is appealed.