A group of video gamers filed a new legal challenge on Monday against Microsoft Corp's $69 billion bid to buy Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard Inc, after a U.S. judge rejected an earlier version of the antitrust lawsuit.
In March, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley dismissed the plaintiffs' first complaint, saying it didn't present enough information to back up its claims that the acquisition would harm industry competition.
The judge said at the time the plaintiffs could file a new suit, which challenges the largest-ever video game industry deal. Amended lawsuits can be dismissed and are subject to court scrutiny.
The lawsuit contained redacted statements derived from Microsoft internal documents, including a strategy memo and other business reports that were provided directly to the board of directors. The complaint contained information from Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
Microsoft has denied that the proposed transaction would curb competition, despite regulatory scrutiny in venues such as the U.S. Europe and Japan.
A Microsoft spokesman and lawyers for the company involved in the case did not respond immediately to a message seeking comment on Tuesday.
An attorney for the plaintiffs did not respond immediately to a similar message.
Private consumers can sue over deals apart from regulatory and enforcement agencies because of the U.S. antitrust laws.
In a court filing last week, lawyers for Microsoft said that the original case relied on flawed legal arguments based on outdated Supreme Court cases. Microsoft's lawyers said the plaintiffs waited 11 months after the transaction was announced to file their lawsuit, and then wasted several more months filing an implausible complaint. The plaintiffs' lawyers served subpoenas on companies including Activision and rivals, including Nintendo of America Inc. and Sony.
Corley is scheduled to meet with the lawyers on Wednesday for a status conference.
The case is Demartini v. Microsoft, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 3: 22 cv -- 08991 - JSC.