CaliforniaRSS

  • October 27, 2008

    FERC OKs $14M Calif. Energy Crisis Settlement

    The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved a settlement of more than $14 million related to transactions a California city conducted during a period of skyrocketing prices for electricity and natural gas in the western United States.

  • October 27, 2008

    Calif. Cities Ask For Bailout Of Troubled Assets

    Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein have urged the Treasury secretary to take into account cities and counties severely impacted by the financial crisis when administering the bailout plan.

  • October 27, 2008

    Broadcom Prosecutor Catches Heat For Alleged Leaks

    The prosecutor who brought criminal backdating charges against Broadcom Corp.’s former chief financial officer and other company executives has come under fire for allegedly leaking secret grand jury details and documents to the media.

  • October 27, 2008

    Qualcomm Hit With Patent Suit Over GPS Technology

    Gabriel Technologies Corp., a maker of security systems for the cargo industry, said it is seeking more than $1 billion in damages against Qualcomm Inc. in a suit accusing the technology giant of illegally taking credit for the company's global positioning technology.

  • October 27, 2008

    Texas Tops CO2 Emissions In New EIA Study

    The Energy Information Administration has released the energy-related CO2 emission statistics from 1990 to 2005 by state, with Texas leading the way with 625.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

  • October 27, 2008

    Former Milberg 'Money Man' Gets 6 Months In Prison

    Casting aside the wishes of the prosecution and defense, a judge has sentenced a former managing partner of the firm now known as Milberg LLP to six months in prison for his role in an infamous kickback scheme.

  • October 24, 2008

    9th Circ. Rejects Granite Rock Suit Against Teamsters

    An appellate judge has upheld a lower court's decision dismissing construction company Granite Rock Co.'s suit against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for allegedly interfering with the company's contract with a local Teamster chapter.

  • October 24, 2008

    Levels Of One GHG Exceed Estimates: Scripps

    Nitrogen trifluoride, a powerful greenhouse gas, is at least four times more prevalent in the atmosphere than previously thought, a team of university researchers has found, and the researchers are recommending it be added to the list of emissions regulated under the Kyoto Protocol.

  • October 24, 2008

    $16M Morgan Stanley Race Bias Settlement Approved

    A federal judge in Northern California conferred final approval on a $16 million settlement in a race discrimination class action against Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc., a little more than three months after due process and representation concerns led the court to refuse to give the deal a green light.

  • October 24, 2008

    Investors Press SEC For Global Warming Disclosure

    A coalition of institutional investors is pressing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to mandate disclosures on climate risks, in a “carbon-constrained environment” with new regulations on the horizon.

  • October 27, 2008

    Jury To Hear Chevron's Nigerian Violence Trial

    Amid emotional protests and a packed courtroom, jurors were sworn in Monday in what will likely be a weeks-long trial in a long-running court battle between Chevron Corp. and a group of Nigerians who claim the company conspired with the Nigerian military to gun down demonstrators protesting the oil company's presence in the country.

  • October 23, 2008

    $13M Settlement In BAR/BRI Class Action Approved

    A district judge has granted final approval to a $13 million settlement in an antitrust class action against the Thomson Corp. and Thomson Legal & Regulatory Inc. that accused the Westlaw legal research publisher of bundling materials in its so-called BAR/BRI courses.

  • October 23, 2008

    New Antitrust Allegations Axed In CNET Patent Spat

    A federal judge in northern California denied product data provider Etilize Inc.’s bid to add allegations that CNET Networks Inc. ran afoul of the Sherman Act by asserting patents CNET knew were invalid to its counterclaims, and to have two database patents asserted against Etilize by plaintiff CNET declared invalid.

  • November 13, 2008

    Loyalty Discounts Not Necessarily Win-Win

    Although bundling discounts on company products seems to have obvious benefits for consumers, experts say these discounts could be viewed as anti-competitive, given the lack of consensus among the federal antitrust agencies and the courts.

  • October 23, 2008

    Calif. Supreme Court To Consider Meal Break Case

    Three months after a state appeals court overturned class certification in a wage-and-hour suit against the owner of Chili's Grill & Bar, California's highest court agreed to consider whether the law requires that companies both provide employees with meal breaks and ensure that employees took them.

  • October 23, 2008

    Rosetta Resources To Pay Calpine $97M

    Oil and gas company Rosetta Resources Inc. has agreed to pay Calpine Corp. a total of $97 million, with a $12.4 million settlement pact between the companies clearing the way for the completion of Rosetta’s acquisition of Calpine’s oil and gas business.

  • October 22, 2008

    Judge Hands Medtronic Win On Rapid-Exchange Bar

    Just a week after Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc. won a yearlong interim extension of a 1995 angioplasty patent, a judge has ruled that a 2000 injunction preventing Medtronic Inc. from selling any infringing rapid-exchange catheter will end as of Oct. 29, the patent's original expiration date.

  • October 22, 2008

    Travelers Appeal Nixed In Refinery Fire Benefits Case

    A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of ConocoPhillips Co. in a battle with an insurer stemming from a fatal refinery fire, holding that ConocoPhillips predecessor Tosco Corp. didn't breach its workers' compensation insurance policy with Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America, and affirming the trial court's judgment.

  • October 22, 2008

    Webkinz Antitrust Cases Consolidated

    Three putative class action cases alleging that the maker of Webkinz toys forced retailers to buy unrelated products through an illegal tying arrangement were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation case on Friday.

  • October 22, 2008

    Wells Fargo's Bid To Dismiss Collective Action Nixed

    A federal judge has rejected Wells Fargo Financial Inc.'s argument that a California court's decision not to certify a nationwide class of about 14,000 people in an overtime suit barred a plaintiff in Ohio from pursuing similar class and collective action claims.