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Microsoft Corp. v. Manning11/13/1995
This is an appeal of the trial court's order granting class certification to a suit by appellees against Microsoft Corporation for breach of express and implied warranty, unjust enrichment, and violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act and the Washington state Consumer Protection Act.
Microsoft contends that the district court abused its discretion in certifying the class because: the claims are founded on an unrecognized liability theory; the certification will result in improper claim splitting; the appellees do not meet the commonality and typicality requirements of Tex. R. Civ. P. 42(a) and (b)(4); there is not an adequate representative for the class as required by Rule 42(a)(4); the court improperly relied on the testimony of an expert witness without determining whether it was scientifically reliable; and the certification will violate Microsoft's and the class members' due process rights under the state and federal constitutions. We will affirm the certification order.
Microsoft Corporation, based in Washington state, supplies software for personal computers. At issue is its software MS-DOS 6.0, or Microsoft Disk Operating System. The disk operating system helps the user control the computer's basic functions, such as retrieving information stored in the computer's memory, writing and reading information stored on hard or floppy disks, and receiving typed characters from the keyboard.
Computer information is stored primarily on the hard drive. Users can increase their storage space by upgrading their equipment and buying newer, larger hard disks. In the late 1980s, software companies introduced disk compression software, which compresses the data on a hard disk, thereby increasing a computer's storage capacity by installing relatively inexpensive software instead of more expensive hardware.
MS-DOS 6.0, introduced in 1993, contained disk compression software. Microsoft bought the rights to Vertisoft's compression program called DoubleDisk. The appellees argue that Microsoft used the compression feature, calling it DoubleSpace, with MS-DOS 6.0 without adequate testing. The compression software was faulty, they argue, and after Microsoft released it, customers started complaining that the compression software could in some cases destroy their data. The software was sold retail by Microsoft and retail dealers, as well as by various original equipment manufacturers who sold it already installed on computers.
Appellees allege that, in order to correct the defect and provide new "data protection technology," Microsoft released an update, called MS-DOS 6.2. A reviewer's guide that Microsoft published in August 1993 stated, "We hope this new technology will not only provide extra protection for customers' data, but also increase customer's comfort in dealing with disk compression."
Appellees Mark Manning, Steve Collins, and Dana Schnitzer filed suit against Microsoft on December 6, 1993, alleging breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, unjust enrichment, and violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act, 15 U.S.C.A. Section(s) 2301, et seq. (West 1989), and the Washington Consumer Protection Act, Wash. Rev. Code Section(s) 19.86.010, et seq. (West 1989). The appellees contend that Microsoft released MS-DOS 6.2 to correct the problems associated with MS-DOS 6.0 and DoubleSpace that caused loss of data. Microsoft sold MS-DOS 6.2 retail for $9.95. The appellees argue that the company should have corrected the problems with MS-DOS 6.0 without charge. They allege that some 10.5 million computer users acquired MS-DOS 6.0 and were damaged when the
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