MidwestRSS

  • August 10, 2006

    Sports Stats Not Protected By Copyright: Judge

    A fantasy sports company hit a home run this week when a judge ruled that Major League Baseball players’ names and game statistics are in the public domain and not copyrightable.

  • August 9, 2006

    Sleep Diagnostic Companies Sue UnitedHealthcare

    Seven sleep diagnostic companies have taken it upon themselves to wake up UnitedHealthcare Inc.’s billing office, slapping the insurance giant on Monday with a lawsuit for failing to pay the companies for services and equipment.

  • August 9, 2006

    Patent Suits Entangle Clinical Trial Tech. Industry

    A full-throttle patent infringement campaign in the health care software industry is underway in New England, where a company called Datasci LLC has topped off a recent victory with a slew of new lawsuits.

  • August 9, 2006

    Judge Greenlights Northwest's $1.4B DIP Loan

    Pushing aside objections, a federal bankruptcy judge has given Northwest Airlines Corp. the go-ahead for a proposed $1.4 billion debtor-in-possession loan intended to help the embattled carrier claw its way out of bankruptcy.

  • August 9, 2006

    Collins & Aikman Moves To Avoid $31M Claim

    Beleaguered auto parts manufacturer Collins & Aikman Corp. is seeking bankruptcy court approval to sell its stake in an unprofitable joint venture and evade a $31 million claim against it in the process.

  • August 9, 2006

    Broker-Dealers Fined $7M For Improper Commissions

    The National Association of Securities Dealers has stuck four broker-dealers linked to ING America Insurance Holdings Inc. with a whopping $7 million fine for their directed brokerage activities.

  • August 9, 2006

    Concerns Raised Over Delphi’s Bid To Ditch GM Contracts

    Two hedge funds have implored a federal bankruptcy judge to exercise caution when considering Delphi’s bid to scrap nearly $5 billion worth of auto supply contracts with General Motors Corp.

  • August 8, 2006

    SEC Formalizes Probe Into Diebold’s Finances

    Automatic teller manufacturer Diebold Inc. has become the subject of a formal U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission probe following the agency’s investigation into the company’s process for identifying revenue.

  • August 8, 2006

    Apotex Launches At-Risk Generic Plavix

    Much to the horror of Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis, Apotex officially launched an at-risk generic version of Plavix on Tuesday after the settlement between the three companies over the patent failed to receive antitrust clearance.

  • August 8, 2006

    Baker & Daniels Nabs Two Biotech Lawyers

    Baker & Daniels LLP has signed on two partners to tailor its intellectual property practice to its clients in the life sciences industry.

  • August 9, 2006

    Auto Parts Company Slapped With ERISA Suits

    Employees of Lear Corp. have class action lawsuits against the automotive interior company and its board of directors, claiming they should have protected employees’ retirement savings plan from predictable losses in the shaky auto market.

  • August 8, 2006

    IBM Pensions Not Discriminatory, Appeals Court Rules

    A U.S. Appeals Court panel overturned a lower court decision Monday that said International Business Machines Corp.’s pension plan discriminated against older workers.

  • August 7, 2006

    Seventh Circuit Hangs Up On Phone Cos. Appeal

    A federal appeals court stymied dueling bids to have an Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) order changed, snatching a victory away from phone companies.

  • August 7, 2006

    Appeals Court Sends NRG Case Back To Minnesota

    A federal appeals court has reversed a Minnesota district court’s dismissal of a proposed injunction against NRG Energy, Inc. that sought to bar the energy commodities company from disseminating allegedly misleading market information.

  • August 7, 2006

    Tower Lobbies Court For 60 More Days To Submit Plan

    Citing the size and complexity of its Chapter 11 case, Tower Automotive Inc. has asked the bankruptcy court to allow it to retain sole control over its reorganization for an additional two months.

  • August 4, 2006

    Molex Execs To Repay Misbegotten Stock Options

    For the first time since the options backdating scandal broke, executives in one technology company have taken the unusual step of paying back what they gained from the controversial practice.

  • August 4, 2006

    Dana Settles Patent, Antitrust Suits

    Bankrupt auto parts supplier Dana Corp. has agreed to a $1.625 million settlement with American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. that, if approved, would end eight years of patent litigation.

  • August 3, 2006

    Tyco's Patent Counterclaims Ordered Into New Case

    A healthcare unit of conglomerate Tyco International Inc. that’s facing an antitrust lawsuit has failed to keep its patent-infringement counterclaims from being split into a separate case.

  • August 3, 2006

    DOJ Mines Asarco For Over $1B In Claims

    The U.S. Justice Department has filed about $1.3 billion in claims against bankrupt mining company Asarco LLC for environmental damages at 31 sites in 14 states, all but one of them west of the Mississippi River.

  • August 3, 2006

    Grace Wins Battle, But Asbestos War Looms

    A federal bankruptcy judge has disallowed 53 asbestos-related property damage claims against W.R. Grace & Co. Inc. But Grace still faces a slew of claims, and a criminal case.