Washington, June 17: West Virginia's attorney general has said he would drop the state's appeal of the landmark Microsoft Corp. antitrust settlement, leaving Massachusetts as the final hold-out pushing for stricter sanctions. West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw said in a statement that he would drop out of the Microsoft appeal as part of a broad agreement that would also settle suits filed under state laws by state authorities and class action attorneys in West Virginia.

The settlement further weakens the challenge to the Microsoft settlement and moves the company closer toward getting its legal problems behind it.
"It's another important step and more momentum in Microsoft's efforts to resolve these legal issues," Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said. "What started with 20 states (opposing the settlement) is down to one."
In his statement, McGraw called the deal "a generous settlement for the people of West Virginia." Bureau Report