Man Sues Microsoft Seeking New Copy of Windows 7 After Forced Windows 10 Upgrade

An Albuquerque man has sued Microsoft and its CEO —Satya Nadella— seeking a fresh copy of Windows 7 or $600 million in damages.

According to a civil complaint filed last week on February 14, Frank K. Dickman Jr. of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is suing Microsoft because of a botched forced Windows 10 upgrade.

"I own a ASUS 54L laptop computer which has an OEM license for Windows Version 7," Dickman's claim reads. "The computer was upgraded to Windows Version 10 and became non-functional immediately. The upgrade deleted the cached, or backup, version of Windows 7."

Plaintiff wants a fresh copy of Windows 7, or else

Dickman says that the laptop's original OEM vendor is "untrustworthy," hence, he cannot obtain a legitimate copy of Windows 7 to downgrade his laptop.

Attempts to obtain a new Windows 7 version from Microsoft have failed, per the plaintiff's claim.

"Microsoft Corporation refuses to replace their licensed Operating system for this laptop and requires that the computer vendor replace it," the lawsuit reads.

Dickman wants Microsoft to provide a "the OEM version of its [Windows 7] operating system" for download via its official website so he can download and install it on his bricked laptop.

The angry plaintiff wants a judge to force Microsoft to comply with his request in 30 days or pay up $600 million in damages— albeit the judge may interpret the damages as $6 billion due to a redaction error, as the complaint reads "$6,000,000,000.00 (six hundred million dollars)."

Past legal woes surrounding Microsoft forced upgrades

Dickman's legal endeavor may fall flat on its face, but he's not the only one suing the company. In March 2017, several users filed a lawsuit —seeking class-action status— against Microsoft, also soliciting monetary damages after suffering botched Windows7-to-Windows10 forced upgrades that left many unable to use their computers.

Microsoft's questionable forced Windows 10 upgrade practice has also gotten the company in trouble with German authorities, but the company avoided any penalties after it reached an agreement to stop forced upgrades, at least in Germany.