On April 16, 2001, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle upheld the award of $27 million in attorneys’ fees in this class action case. WLF filed formal objections with the court on January 24, 2001, on behalf of several class members to the proposed attorneys’ fee award being sought in this major class action case. The court ordered the plaintiffs’ attorneys to submit more detailed information justifying their fee, and on March 29, 2001, WLF filed a response, arguing that the fee was not justified. This lawsuit was originally filed against Microsoft in late 1992 on behalf of employees of Microsoft who were classified as temporary employees or independent contractors. They claimed that they should have been treated as permanent employees, and should have been entitled to participate in employee benefit plans such as health insurance, the company’s stock purchase plan, and similar benefits.