Binary Bill Gates, America’s richest human being, had to feel a bit satisfied after a federal appeals court Friday took an activist district judge to the woodshed and stripped him of the responsibility of overseeing an antitrust settlement between the government and Microsoft Corp.
The settlement, requiring Gates’ Microsoft to end discounts to personal-computer manufacturers, was rejected Feb. 14 by U.S. District Judge Stanley Sporkin. Sporkin, former enforcement chief for the Securities and Exchange Commission, criticized the Justice Department for not pursuing a broader case against the country’s largest software maker.
The District of Columbia appeals court said Sporkin overstepped his authority. The panel ordered the case sent back to district court and reassigned it to another judge with instructions to approve the settlement.
The Justice Department hasn’t gone soft on Microsoft. In May the company dropped plans to buy the largest maker of personal-finance software rather than fight the government. Last week the antitrust division said it is investigating Microsoft’s plans for a new on-line service.
