Novell Antitrust Suit Against Microsoft Sputters to a Close

All Things D: A federal judge has granted Microsoft’s request to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit originally filed by Novell eight years ago. Last fall, the suit resulted in a mistrial when a jury failed to agree on a verdict. Novell had been seeking $1 billion in damages.

“Although Novell presented evidence from which a jury could have found that Microsoft engaged in aggressive conduct, perhaps to monopolize or attempt to monopolize the applications market, it did not present evidence sufficient for a jury to find that Microsoft committed any acts that violated [antitrust laws] in maintaining its monopoly in the operating systems market,” wrote U.S. District Judge Frederick Motz. “No reasonable jury could find, on the basis of the evidence presented at trial, that Microsoft’s [actions] caused Novell’s failure to develop its applications within 90 days of the release of Windows 95.”

Novell responded with a statement saying, “While Novell is disappointed with Judge Frederick Motz’s ruling, Novell still believes in the strength of its claim and we do intend to pursue an appeal.”