Although the Microsoft antitrust trial is still in recess, interested parties are steeling themselves for the next round.
Sun Microsystemson Wednesday said Mike Popov, vice president and chief operating officer of staff operations will take the stand on April 30 in San Francisco Federal Court to give a deposition in the case, which is not expected to reconvene until sometime in May. A Sun spokeswoman characterized Popov as a key member of the negotiating team involved in the complicated deal that led to last year's purchase of Netscape Communications by America Online.
On Monday, Microsoft and the DOJ will exchange lists of rebuttal witnesses.
Delay courtesy of NATO
That hearing was originally scheduled for Friday, but NATO anniversary festivities have delayed it one business day, according to sources.
Both sides are expected to name three rebuttal witnesses - one on each side will be an economist. Many expect the DOJ to name AOL CEO Steve Case as one of the government's rebuttal witnesses. At least one published report has said the government also is looking to call Gateway CEO Ted Waitt, as well, but Gateway officials have not confirmed this information. Microsoft continually has declined to comment on whom it plans to name as rebuttal witnesses.
Before the rebuttal witnesses begin to take the stand, Microsoft attorneys will depose four executives in connection with the AOL-Netscape merger and Sun participation in the deal - two from AOL and one each from Sun and Netscape. The depositions are open to the press and public, and are likely to be conducted on the deponents' home turf, rather than in Washington, D.C., or Redmond, Wash., Microsoft's headquarters location.
The only deponent named publicly before Wednesday was AOL's Case. An AOL spokesman contacted for additional information on the name of the other deponents, as well as for dates and locations of the depositions, did not return a call by press time. Netscape is deferring all related calls to AOL. While the court has allocated six hours for the Popov deposition, a good portion of his deposition could be closed to the press and public because of a possible confidential designation, according to a Sun spokeswoman.
Three-way deal under review
Microsoft subpoenaed Sun at the end of March, requesting it make available the most knowledgeable executive who could testify about the AOL-Netscape-Sun deal. The deposition was originally slated for the week of April 12. Microsoft's subpoenaing of Sun followed by a day Microsoft's filing of an emergency motion to compel the release of all of the e-mail messages relating to the three-way deal.
Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson granted Microsoft's request at the end of last year to seek information relating to the AOL-Netscape-Sun deal, as it could have a bearing on the antitrust trial. The judge issued a court order in January requiring the DOJ's antitrust division to provide Microsoft with a number of documents pertinent to the then-pending AOL-Netscape merger.
Following the AOL-Netscape-Sun depositions and the testimony of the six rebuttal witnesses, Jackson has scheduled a one-month break before representatives from Microsoft and the DOJ make their closing arguments. The judge is unlikely to rule on the case before fall if it continues at its current pace, trial watchers said.
