http://www.law360.com/ Latest articles for organization: Verizon Communications Copyright 2009 Portfolio Media, Inc. en-US http://www.law360.com/images/headings/logo.gif http://www.law360.com/ http://www.law360.com/articles/135398 RealNetworks Inc. and MTV Networks have opened talks that could see the U.S. digital media company give up its majority stake in online music seller Rhapsody.com to the company best known as the first music video channel. http://www.law360.com/articles/135398 http://www.law360.com/articles/135151 Alltel Communications LLC is facing a class action in Ohio over claims that the company reneged on a promotion that promised to provide potentially lifetime free long distance calls. http://www.law360.com/articles/135151 http://www.law360.com/articles/135123 Unsecured creditors in Idearc Inc.'s bankruptcy have settled a dispute with secured lenders over control of assets including the phone book publisher's advertising revenues and copyrights for its Yellow Pages directories, attorneys for both sides said. http://www.law360.com/articles/135123 http://www.law360.com/articles/123104 The Ninth Circuit has a program for young lawyers where oral argument is guaranteed once they brief the case, and more programs like this are needed, says Andrew G. McBride, co-chair of Wiley Rein LLP's appellate practice. http://www.law360.com/articles/123104 http://www.law360.com/articles/134331 Three retirees have filed a putative class action against Verizon Communication Inc. over its decision to shift them from its own pension plans to plans run by subsidiary Idearc Inc. when the telecommunications giant spun off its information services division into the bankrupt unit. http://www.law360.com/articles/134331 http://www.law360.com/articles/133719 The twin opinions of Twombly and Iqbal have created an ominous barrier for plaintiffs. Ultimately, Congress or the Supreme Court must recognize the frequent injustices caused by this heightened pleading standard and take action to return to a more relaxed standard, say James Pizzirusso, Spencer Jenkins and Carina Clark of Hausfeld LLP. http://www.law360.com/articles/133719 http://www.law360.com/articles/133694 Telecommunications company Avaya Inc. said Wednesday that it had received antitrust approval from the Federal Trade Commission and the Canadian Competition Bureau for its proposed $915 million purchase of bankrupt Nortel Networks Corp.'s enterprise solutions business. http://www.law360.com/articles/133694 http://www.law360.com/articles/133580 Facing a drop in share value, stiff competition in the smartphone market and open speculation that it might become a takeover target, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. has announced it will buy back more than $1 billion worth of its shares. http://www.law360.com/articles/133580 http://www.law360.com/articles/133730 The ad hoc committee of noteholders in FairPoint Communications Inc.’s Chapter 11 case has withdrawn its request for the appointment of an examiner, just weeks after the telecommunications company’s business plan and public statements leading up to its filing were found to be unreliable due to either obfuscation or incompetence. http://www.law360.com/articles/133730 http://www.law360.com/articles/133189 Robert Bell, formerly of WilmerHale LLP, has joined Kaye Scholer LLP's Washington office as the new co-chair for the firm's entire antitrust division. http://www.law360.com/articles/133189 http://www.law360.com/articles/132913 A judge has rejected a request by manufacturers including Honeywell International Inc., Wix Filtration Corp. and United Components Inc. to dismiss consolidated suits alleging price-fixing in the market for automotive filters under heightened pleading standards, saying the plaintiffs’ claims, which are based on eyewitness accounts, are more than sufficient to proceed in court. http://www.law360.com/articles/132913 http://www.law360.com/articles/132911 AT&T Inc. has completed its $944 million acquisition of Centennial Communications Corp. following conditional approval of the deal by the Federal Communications Commission, which demanded certain divestitures over competition concerns. http://www.law360.com/articles/132911 http://www.law360.com/articles/132502 AT&T Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and other wireless communications heavyweights have been accused by patent-holding company Child Protect LLC of infringing two patents related to control communications between mobile devices. http://www.law360.com/articles/132502 http://www.law360.com/articles/132309 A federal judge has ruled for Verizon Communications Inc. in a proposed class action seeking up to $1 billion in additional benefits because of an alleged error in the language of the company's pension plan. http://www.law360.com/articles/132309 http://www.law360.com/articles/132306 The ad hoc committee of noteholders in FairPoint Communications Inc.’s Chapter 11 case has asked a judge to appoint an examiner, saying the telecommunications company’s business plan and public statements leading up to its filing were unreliable due to either obfuscation or incompetence. http://www.law360.com/articles/132306 http://www.law360.com/articles/131778 A federal judge has again denied summary judgment to Neuralstem Inc. in its battle with fellow biotherapeutics company StemCells Inc. over patents related to stem cells, setting the stage for a trial. http://www.law360.com/articles/131778 http://www.law360.com/articles/131890 A federal judge has dismissed a New York attorney's lawsuit alleging Citigroup Inc. abused its dominant position in the airline special facility bond underwriting market to block the use of a new method she invented for financing airline terminal projects. http://www.law360.com/articles/131890 http://www.law360.com/articles/131699 A District of Columbia appeals court has kept a case against Motorola Inc., Verizon Wireless Inc., AT&T Corp. and others alive, reversing in part a lower court's decision to dismiss consolidated suits claiming older phones emitted dangerous amounts of radiation. http://www.law360.com/articles/131699 http://www.law360.com/articles/131582 A New York judge has ruled that policies Twin City Fire Insurance Co. provided to JPMorgan Chase & Co. require the Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. unit to pay the banking giant nearly $22 million toward its roughly $2.3 billion in settlements with bondholders of defunct WorldCom Inc. http://www.law360.com/articles/131582 http://www.law360.com/articles/130853 South Africa's competition regulator has recommended that the country's largest fixed-line phone provider, Telkom SA Ltd., pay 10 percent of its last year's revenue for allegedly taking advantage of its near-monopoly market position by charging competing Internet service providers excessive prices for services. http://www.law360.com/articles/130853