Vacco v. Microsoft Corp. (Connecticut Appellate Court)

In the Connecticut Supreme Court, the plaintiff sought to overturn the Superior Court's dismissal of his claims under the Connecticut Antitrust Act and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act ("CUTPA"). The Superior Court ruled that Mr. Vacco was an indirect purchaser of Microsoft's software and held that the Connecticut Antitrust Act incorporated the United States Supreme Court's Illinois Brick prohibition against suits by indirect purchasers. The Superior Court also dismissed the CUTPA claim, ruling that to permit the CUTPA claim to proceed "would be contrary to Supreme Court authority . . . and would undermine the Supreme Court's policy choices in its interpretation of federal antitrust law, which this court is directed to follow." NELF joined in a brief supporting Microsoft's position  prepared by the former head of the Attorney General's Antitrust Division on behalf of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, the Computing Technology Industry Association, and the Association for Competitive Technology. In April of 2002, the Court ruled in favor of the position advocated by NELF, and  upheld the lower court decision, holding that Vacco’s claimed injuries were too indirect with respect to Microsoft’s allegedly anticompetitive conduct for Vacco to recover under CUPTA.