Microsoft sued again over XP downgrades

A California woman is suing Microsoft for the second time over the same thing. Even though her first lawsuit concerning XP downgrade fees was thrown out with nary a blink from the company’s legal team,

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Isn’t that how the old saying goes? Still, when it comes to a lawsuit which seemed doomed as soon as it was first filed, and has since been roundly rejected by the courts, I’d have to suggest an alternative course of action. But some people are determined.

In 2009, Los Angeles resident Emma Alvarado sued Microsoft over fees she paid in order to downgrade to Windows XP. In that lawsuit, she argued that Microsoft was wrong to “require consumers to purchase computers pre-installed with the Vista operating system and to pay additional sums to ‘downgrade’ to the Windows XP operating system.” She’d had to buy a computer with Vista installed on it and then pay $60 in order to downgrade to XP.

This suit was thrown out by Judge Marsha Pechman in February 2010. Her rejection was absolute, stating that Microsoft’s actions would only be illegal if the company “retained a benefit without giving value.” Which it doesn’t.

Not content to leave things there, Alvarado has launched a new lawsuit. According to ComputerWorld, Alvarado has now accused Microsoft of breaking California’s unfair business practice and restraint of trade laws over the same downgrade rules that her previous lawsuit was fighting against. Because it makes perfect sense to try again, especially as the lawsuits are virtually identical.

What’s more, this time around she’s fighting for the lawsuit to be given class-action status so that others can jump on the bandwagon. And she wants Microsoft to refund all revenues brought in from downgrades, and for all those involved in the suit to be paid triple the amount of damages that may be awarded.

I don’t need to defend Microsoft on this one, because it has its own very expensive and qualified legal team. But the fact that one judge has already thrown out a very similar lawsuit suggests this one will go the same way. And I would expect nothing less, because Microsoft isn’t exactly fleecing people here. After all, why would anyone want to keep XP at this stage anyway?

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