Ready to 
“Vista capable” suit loses class action status
Robert Hallock
February 19, 2009 10:51 AM ET in Tech
In the ongoing lawsuit concerning users feeling duped by Microsoft’s “Vista Capable” stickers, federal judge Marsha Pechman has decided to strip the suit of its class action status.
The recent decision has no doubt brought relief to a Microsoft which stood to lose millions in the wake of successful execution by the plaintiffs. Microsoft must now be willing to treat with individual lawsuits, but we’re rather of the belief that the number of angry people has suddenly shrunk.
Pechman’s ruling (PDF) cites insufficient evidence for class action status, but reserved the notion that Vista Capable stickers could have been misleading. “At this juncture, the Court believes the most appropriate remedy for Plaintiffs’ failure to present evidence suggesting class-wide causation is decertification,” she wrote. “The question is … whether Microsoft’s use of the ‘Vista Capable’ designation had the capacity to deceive.”
The case has been in the courts since 2007 when incensed users claimed that the December ‘06 “Vista Capable” campaign produced systems that may have been unprepared to run Media Center or Aero.
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