WASHINGTON, D.C., October 8, 1998 — Microsoft today filed objections in Federal District Court to the government’s latest attempt to expand and redefine its antitrust lawsuit. The company said that the transformation in the claims by the Department of Justice and state attorneys general is so sweeping that their allegations now bear little resemblance to those set forth in their original complaints. Microsoft also filed a revised witness list with the Court.
When the government filed its lawsuit in May, its attorneys said the case was narrowly focused and could be ready for trial in a very short time. Accordingly, the Court established a pretrial schedule providing for a brief discovery period and limiting each side to no more than 12 witnesses. Since that time, the government has tried repeatedly to expand its case with new allegations not included in the original complaint. In its filing today, Microsoft contends that “Microsoft will be denied its right to due process if plaintiffs are permitted to try an expanded case that is fundamentally different from the one laid out in their complaints.”
