(Washington, D.C.) – The more-than 4,000 members and supporters of Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) in West Virginia today applauded State Attorney General Darrell McGraw’s move to abandon the appeal of U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly’s 2001 decision in the Microsoft antitrust trial.  West Virginia’s withdrawal from the case leaves Massachusetts remaining as the only state still pursuing the lawsuit.

“Every other state and the federal government have decided that after five years of litigation and $35 million in costs, enough is enough,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “West Virginia’s involvement in the case was not only wasteful in a monetary sense, but it diverted time and energy away from other functions and priorities of the office of Attorney General.” 

After five years of litigation, the Justice Department and nine states reached an agreement that was opposed by nine other states and the District of Columbia.  As one of the dissenting states, West Virginian officials lobbied for tougher penalties to, in their view, protect consumers and prevent Microsoft from exerting what they described as monopoly power.  But on November 8, 2002, Judge Kollar-Kotelly rejected the states’ arguments and upheld the settlement, which called for the company to reveal part of its Windows software code to competitors. 

“Fortunately for consumers in West Virginia, the state government realized that years of litigation would do potentially more damage to a taxpayer’s checkbook than government-imposed mechanisms of consumer protection,” Schatz continued.  “Attorney General McGraw should be commended for remembering that his first allegiance as an elected official is to the taxpayer.”

In the most notable and taxpayer-friendly provision of the West Virginia settlement, Microsoft agreed to foot the bill by paying $1.3 million to cover legal costs.  The company will also provide $21 million in vouchers to state schools, government agencies and consumers, to be used for purchasing hardware and software products.

In January 2002, CAGW filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with all nine states and the District of Columbia that were still pursuing the case.  In response, a February 27 letter from AG McGraw’s office stated that West Virginia had contributed $26,295.44 to a collective cost sharing pool among all participating states.  It also spent $1,589.34 in travel related costs. 

“Microsoft has demonstrated cooperation and a willingness to compromise,” Schatz continued. “West Virginia’s decision supports the conclusion that it’s time for Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly to stop throwing money away at a pointless appeal when a federal court already approved a settlement back in 2001.” 

Despite West Virginia’s announcement to withdraw its appeal, a spokesperson for Reilly reaffirmed the state’s staunch commitment to pursue its court battle with the software company.  Massachusetts’ case will be heard in Washington, D.C. in November.

“For Massachusetts, continuing the case simply threatens the welfare of every state resident by risking additional tax dollars, this is especially dangerous considering the state is facing a $2 billion deficit for fiscal year 2004,” Schatz concluded.  “The more than 11,500 members and supporters of CAGW in Massachusetts demand that Attorney General Reilly end his quixotic pursuit against Microsoft immediately.”

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.  For more information, please visit www.cagw.org.