MidwestRSS

  • July 10, 2006

    Nicor Inc. Settles Fraud Charges For $10M

    Natural gas provider Nicor Inc. has agreed to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission $10 million to settle allegations that the company illegally inflated profits.

  • July 10, 2006

    Stinging Setback For Inventor In Patent Lawsuit

    A Chicago District Court judge ruled on June 28 that inventor Ole K. Nilssen had violated nearly every patent law on the books in his lawsuit against lighting company Osram Sylvania, Inc.

  • July 7, 2006

    Defendants Cave To Acacia Over Resource Tools

    In a victory for patent-holding company Acacia Research Corp., two defendants in an infringement lawsuit have agreed to settle with the company over its technology for resource management software.

  • July 7, 2006

    Illinois Files Bid-Rigging Suit Against Liberty Mutual

    Insurance company Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. has once again found itself in hot water over alleged bid-rigging, this time as the subject of a suit filed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

  • July 6, 2006

    Amcast Requests Documents From General Motors

    Amcast Industrial Corp. has asked a bankruptcy judge to compel General Motors Corp. to produce documents related to its ongoing pricing disputes with the auto manufacturer.

  • July 6, 2006

    Hollinger V. Hollinger Heats Up In Chicago

    The blame game over alleged corporate looting at Hollinger International Inc. heated up Thursday with a countersuit by the publisher’s top shareholder, Hollinger Inc. The publisher, owner of the Chicago Sun-Times and other newspapers, stands accused of stripping Hollinger Inc. of its assets to enrich top executives.

  • July 6, 2006

    Device Makers Settle Suit Over Incontinence Treatment

    A federal lawsuit alleging that a California-based medical device maker infringed on a patent covering treatments for female urinary incontinence has ended, after the two companies involved entered into a cross-licensing agreement.

  • July 6, 2006

    Hospitals Rail Against Medicaid Citizenship Law

    As a new law requiring Medicaid recipients to prove U.S. citizenship continues to come under fire, several hospital trade groups across the nation are seeking to soften the blow on low-income individuals who may not be able to provide the required documentation to receive critical care.

  • July 5, 2006

    Backdating Probe Expands To Directors

    The Securities and Exchange Commission will likely pursue civil charges against at least three directors of Mercury Interactive Corp., one of the first companies caught in the ever-growing web of improper stock options grants.

  • July 5, 2006

    Pliant Fires Back At Ex-CEO

    Embattled Pliant Corp. has asked a bankruptcy judge to toss out a request by its former chief executive to obtain $11.7 million that the packaging company allegedly owes him for the repurchase of some of its stock.

  • July 5, 2006

    Wachovia Forks Over $25M In Research Scandal

    Two years after a widespread crackdown on dishonest research analysts, Wachovia Capital Markets LLC has agreed to shell out $25 million to settle state regulators' charges of conflicts of interest between the company's research and investment banking operations.

  • July 5, 2006

    Execs Charged With Peddling Trade Secrets

    Three former senior employees of Metaldyne Corporation have been charged with stealing secrets to help give its Chinese competitors a foothold as a supplier of powdered metal heavy automotive parts.

  • June 30, 2006

    SEC Victorious In Waste Management Fraud Suit

    In one of the biggest corporate fraud cases ever prosecuted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, former Waste Management Inc. finance chief James E. Koenig was found liable Thursday of cheating investors out of more than $6 billion.

  • June 30, 2006

    Intermec Begins New RFID Patent Battle

    Intermec Inc. is ready for round two in its ongoing fight to protect its patents for radio frequency identification, after the company filed a new patent lawsuit against Alien Technology on Thursday, alleging infringement on 10 RFID patents.

  • June 30, 2006

    Lord Black's Bond Still Up In The Air

    A federal judge overseeing the criminal case of former media mogul Conrad Black has once again delayed choosing whether to revoke a $20 million bond keeping Black out of jail, but ordered his lawyers to provide a detailed analysis of his finances by July 10.

  • June 30, 2006

    Northwest Wins Right To Reject Flight Attendant Contract

    After months of failed negotiations, a federal bankruptcy judge has given Northwest Airlines Corp. the green light to reject its labor contract with an estimated 9,300 flight attendants.

  • June 30, 2006

    Johnson & Johnson Sues To Stop Generic Risperdal

    A subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson has filed a federal patent infringement lawsuit in an attempt to thwart a Canadian pharmaceutical company’s efforts to introduce a generic version of Risperdal, the latest in a series of suits filed by J&J to protect the market for its blockbuster antipsychotic drug.

  • June 30, 2006

    Auto Parts Supplier Fights Ticking Clock

    Auto-parts supplier Collins & Aikman Corp. is seeking its fourth extension for filing its Chapter 11 plan, citing a large and complex bankruptcy case and the potential sale of pieces of its business.

  • June 29, 2006

    Kmart Employees To Split $11.75M Settlement

    A judge has approved an $11.75 million settlement for former Kmart Corp. employees and retirees who alleged that the company forced them to invest their pensions in the retailer’s worthless stock.

  • June 29, 2006

    New Medicaid Rules Inspire Class Action Suit

    A law requiring Medicaid recipients to prove U.S citizenship has prompted a proposed class action lawsuit, which claims that new documentation requirements are unconstitutional, and that the new requirements—slated to go into effect on July 1—will deny some of society’s neediest members access to Medicaid.