Microsoft Corp. said on Tuesday it will pay New Mexico consumers as much as $31.5 million to settle a class action claiming the world"s largest software maker had overcharged for software. The settlement, which received preliminary approval by New Mexico"s First Judicial District Court in late July, will allow eligible class members to receive vouchers from Microsoft that can be used to buy any computer hardware or software from any manufacturer.
The settlement is the latest since Redmond, Washington- based Microsoft settled class-actions with Massachusetts and Arizona in June. Microsoft has been working to put antitrust claims behind it, having settled such suits in more than a dozen states and the District of Columbia over the past two years, for a total of more than $1.5 billion. As with the Massachusetts settlement and other such deals it has struck across the United States, Microsoft said it will provide half the value of any unclaimed vouchers to certain New Mexico school districts.