Via How Appealing, the "Supreme Court of North Dakota affirms certification of [a] consumer class action against Microsoft Corp., alleging unlawful overcharges" due to its monopoly power. The class includes all end-users of Microsoft software, whether pre-loaded or shrink-wrapped, in the state of North Dakota.
Class action cases are notoriously complex. Fortunately, the decision deals with only one of North Dakota's requirements for a class action: "The sole dispute on [Microsoft's] appeal focuses on whether a class action will provide a fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy in this case." More specifically, out of the 13 factors that go into deciding fairness and efficiency, this case focuses on "[1] whether common questions of law and fact predominate over individual questions and [2] whether management of the class action poses unusual difficulties." Basically, the court finds that there are common questions even though there may not be a way to demonstrate individual damages by proof common to the entire class; and partially as a result, there are no unusual difficulties in this case.
The ruling is here.