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Another Microsoft delay?
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September 11, 1998: 4:14 p.m. ET
Pretrial maneuvering expected to delay trial by up to a month
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Sources familiar with the Justice Department's antitrust case against Microsoft Corp. Friday said pretrial maneuvering is likely to delay the start of the case for a second time, pushing it well into October.
The sources said the move stems from a new round of subpoenas issued last week by Microsoft seeking a wide range of documents from competitors, including Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL), IBM Corp. (IBM), Novell Inc. (NOVL), Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW).
The two sides are expected to meet next week to discuss how long the trial will be postponed. The general indication is that the trial will begin October 15.
Earlier in the summer the trial was pushed back to Sept. 22, two weeks later than its original start date.
The negotiations for a new start come as attorneys for Microsoft argued Friday the government's antitrust case against the software giant should be thrown out for lack of evidence.
Microsoft lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson to grant the company summary judgment because the government had not presented any evidence to credibly show the software company violated antitrust laws.
Jackson took the matter under advisement and gave no indication on when he would rule on the motion.
During Friday's hearing, Justice lawyers and attorneys for the 20 states that are also part of the federal government's lawsuit repeated allegations that Microsoft competed illegally on several occasions, such as bundling its Internet Explorer browser with the Windows operating system.
The government also accused Microsoft of offering exclusionary contracts to Internet providers to distribute its browser and refusing to allow computer makers to easily remove Internet Explorer and instead install Netscape Communications Corp.'s Navigator browser.
"Not only do they give it away, they bribe people to take it... and they tie the product to their monopoly operating system," said Justice Department lawyer David Boies.
Microsoft attorney John Warden said Microsoft has not prohibited any company has been prohibited from selling or distributing software.
When asked about internal memos citing where Microsoft executives reportedly mentioned "sucking the air" out of Netscape, Warden said "colorful language is no sign of evil intentions."
Microsoft (MSFT) shares closed up 3-9/16 to 104-5/16.
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