Lawyers for PC buyers are trying a new approach in an attempt to get U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman to reinstate the class-action status that she recently removed from the lawsuit over Microsoft's Windows Vista Capable marketing program. According to a document filed today (PDF, 5 pages), the lawyers are asking the judge to certify a narrower class of plaintiffs than before.

Pechman last week declined to go forward with a class consisting of all buyers of "Windows Vista Capable" machines. Now, the lawyers are asking her to approve a class consisting only of people who bought those PCs through Microsoft's Express Upgrade Guarantee Program, and those who bought PCs that didn't support Windows Vista's advanced graphics.

The lawyers contend that narrowing it down to those people would satisfy the legal requirements for class certification.

They're asking the judge to push back the trial date to consider their new motion. The case is currently scheduled for trial April 13, but because the judge removed the class-action status, it would only involve a handful of plaintiffs.

[Update: Here's Microsoft's statement on the plantiffs' latest motion: "We believe the Court was right when it decertified the class.  We will oppose plaintiffs’ renewed request to certify a class and their motion to delay the trial.  We look forward to presenting our case to the jury on April 13, should plaintiffs elect to pursue their individual claims."]

The suit alleges that Microsoft wrongly classified as "Vista Capable" computers that couldn't run versions of Windows Vista with the Aero Glass interface or other "signature" features of the operating system. In response, Microsoft said the more basic version was still Windows Vista, and was rightfully included in the "Vista Capable" marketing program.