PROTECT CONSUMER JUSTICE.ORG

Los Angeles Times: Microsoft — whose products include the Windows operating system, Xbox, Skype and Bing — is prohibiting consumers from joining together in class actions to address common grievances with its products. “Microsoft is telling people they can stuff it if they want to join together in exercising their constitutional right to a jury trial,” writes columnist David Lazarus. who adds class actions “are the most effective way of holding businesses accountable for misdeeds involving relatively small amounts of money. If a Microsoft glitch resulted in Xbox users, say, losing only a few bucks each, it’s hard to imagine anyone seeking a legal remedy. But a class action would potentially result in a multimillion-dollar payout by Microsoft, thus making clear to the company that its actions have consequences.”