[LINK] Novell v Microsoft - deadlocked jury

[Jan Whitaker]

Jurors deadlock in $1B lawsuit against Microsoft
1:57 PM, Dec 17, 2011


SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Attorneys for a Utah company that brought a $1 
billion antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. said it will seek 
to retry the case with a new jury after a federal jury failed to 
reach a verdict.

Novell Inc. sued the software giant in 2004, claiming Microsoft duped 
it into developing the once-popular WordPerfect writing program for 
Windows 95 only to pull the plug so Microsoft could gain market share 
with its own product. Novell says it was later forced to sell 
WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss.

The trial began two months ago and included two days of testimony 
from Bill Gates last month. Jurors got the case on Wednesday. After 
much confusion, and some perplexing questions from the panel, they 
told U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz they were deadlocked by 
early Friday evening.

Motz repeatedly asked them if they could keep trying.

"This has been a very long and expensive case," the judge told the panel.

Novell attorneys pleaded with Motz to give the panel just one more 
day. In the end, however, the 12 jurors told the judge they were 
"hopelessly" deadlocked, and they later told lawyers a single holdout 
refused to vote in Novell's favor.

"He had strongly held views about the technical evidence and refused 
to budge," Novell attorney Jeffrey Johnson said. Jurors offered no 
comment after the trial.

Novell was left with little to show for a decade of effort.
[more at link 
http://www.9news.com/money/236459/344/Jurors-deadlock-in-1B-lawsuit-against-Microsoft 
]


Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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