Nevada may join new antitrust suit

Thursday, June 28, 2001 | 10:59 a.m.

Nevada didn't participate in the landmark Microsoft Corp. antitrust case that is the subject of today's appeals court ruling.

But the state may get involved in a potential new antitrust lawsuit involving Microsoft's new Windows XP software.

Tim Hay, who heads the Nevada attorney general's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the decision not to participate in the current Microsoft case was made before he became the consumer advocate. He said the state didn't join the Justice Department and several states suing Microsoft because of the massive workload involved and the office's limited resources.

Hay said while Nevada did not participate in the action that was partially overturned today, "there has been talk among states about the new operating system that incorporates some of the same features that were subject to criticism in the current case."

He said a decision hasn't been reached on whether Nevada would participate in another action.

Hay said it was too early to determine what impact today's decision would have on Nevada consumers because many of the issues involved Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's conduct -- and not the antitrust issues raised in the case.