April 22, 2014 (Shareholders Foundation) - An investor, who currently holds shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) filed a lawsuit against directors of Microsoft Corporation in connection with a $732 million fine in the EU from March 2013.
The plaintiff alleges that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties owed to NASDAQ:MSFT stockholders by allegedly violating a European Union antitrust settlement agreement and incurring a $731 million fine. The plaintiff claims that the defendants blatantly and continuously violated a 2009 antitrust settlement with EU regulators that required Microsoft Corporation to offer consumers a choice of rival Web browsers with its Windows operating system. The plaintiff says that in early 2011 Microsoft Corporation eliminated the choice that allowed consumers to select their default Web browser from at least 15 million installations of Windows 7 in Europe, making Microsoft's own Internet Explorer the only browser available on those installations. The plaintiff says that that led to a $732.2 million fine for Microsoft Corporation.

Microsoft’s Total Revenue rose from over $73.72 billion for the 12 months period that ended on June 30, 2012 to over $77.84 billion for the 12 months period that ended on June 30, 2013 and that its respective Net Income increased from over $16.97 billion to over $21.86 billion. Shares of Microsoft Corporation grew from $24.30 per share in late 2011 to as high as $41.52 per share on April 1, 2014.

On April 22, 2014, NASDAQ:MSFT shares closed at $39.99 per share.