Judge orders Ballmer to testify in Vista Capable case

IDG News Service - A federal judge in Seattle has ordered Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer to testify in a class-action lawsuit that alleges that the company misled consumers in a marketing campaign for Windows Vista in which computers sold with an older Microsoft operarting system were labeled 'Vista Capable' when in fact they could run only a basic version of Vista.

Ballmer has unique personal knowledge of facts surrounding the case and therefore must face questioning, ruled Judge Marsha Pechman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, according to court documents released late Friday.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs will have no more than three hours to take a deposition from Ballmer at the time and place of his convenience, the documents said. The deposition must take place within 30 days of the order.

The case against Microsoft was launched early last year. The plaintiffs allege that most computers labeled Vista Capable in the marketing campaign, which began in early 2006, can't run or run poorly Vista Premium, the version of Vista with the most popular features.

Microsoft had sought to exclude Ballmer from questioning, saying he was not involved in operational discussions around the Vista Capable program, the court documents say. Microsoft had offered up then co-president Jim Allchin and then-senior vice president Will Poole instead of Ballmer, saying the two had superior knowledge of the program.

The plaintiffs won the argument to question Ballmer by pointing out conversations between Ballmer and Intel Corp. CEO Paul Otellini in which the two discussed possible changes in the Vista Capable requirements.