Microsoft, AOL resolve document dispute

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By Nancy Weil

(IDG) -- Microsoft Corp. withdrew a motion asking that AOL Time Warner Inc. be forced by a federal judge to turn over documents related to the government's ongoing antitrust case against the software maker.

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In a one-paragraph court filing Monday, Microsoft said the matter had been resolved and its motion had been withdrawn. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in an order last Thursday told the two companies that they needed to work out the dispute because the issues raised by Microsoft were too narrow and didn't require her intervention. (AOL Time Warner is the parent company of CNN.com.)

"The court further notes that the aspersions cast in the parties' pleadings as to the respective motivations of the opposing party do not advance the resolution of the issues presently before the court and, in truth, only serve to lengthen needlessly the parties' filings," she wrote in her order.

Microsoft wanted AOL Time Warner to be forced to quickly turn over documents in the case, arguing that its rival was withholding information while it helped the nine U.S. states and the District of Columbia, which have refused to sign off on a proposed settlement agreement between Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Justice and nine other states.

Details on how Microsoft and AOL Time Warner resolved the disagreement weren't provided in the court document.