A federal judge in Baltimore on Friday rejected a controversial settlement that would have ended more than 100 private class-action lawsuits against Microsoft. Under terms of the proposed deal, Microsoft would have given $1 billion in money, software, services and training to about 12,500 underprivileged public schools. The company also would have given about 1 million Windows licenses for refurbished PCs donated to the schools. In his opinion, U.S. District Judge J. Fredrick Motz said that the private cases had not been developed far enough to determine the extent of damages that could have been obtained through litigation. Motz also concluded that a private foundation created to administer the school donations would not be adequately funded.
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