MidwestRSS

  • May 18, 2006

    State Attorneys General Step Up Antitrust Litigation

    The relationship between state and federal authorities—and the role they play in antitrust enforcement—has been changing in recent years, with state attorneys general increasingly cracking down on anti-competitive practices.

  • May 18, 2006

    Sears To Pay $215M To Settle Class Action

    Retail giant Sears Roebuck & Co. has agreed to pay $215 million to settle a long-running shareholder class-action lawsuit that accused the company of concealing poor profitability at its former credit card unit.

  • May 17, 2006

    Ameriprise Unit To Pay Exxon Retirees $22M: NASD

    In a stunning success for a group of retired Exxon Mobil Corp. employees, a National Association of Securities Dealers panel has imposed a $22 million award to be paid out by Securities America Inc., a subsidiary of Ameriprise Financial Inc., in one of the largest awards of its kind.

  • May 17, 2006

    Medtronic Seeks Declaratory Judgment In Patent Suit

    In an effort to stave off a potential patent infringement suit, Medtronic Xomed Inc. has filed a lawsuit asking a federal court in Washington, D.C. to declare that its products don’t encroach on a patent held by a Swiss company headquartered in Germany.

  • May 16, 2006

    UnitedHealth Faces Class Action For Options Backdating

    Things have not been looking healthy lately for UnitedHealth Group Inc. The healthcare provider was already under fire from the SEC for possible backdating, and now finds itself dealing with a class action lawsuit alleging securities fraud.

  • May 16, 2006

    J.L. French Moves Closer To Emerging From Chapter 11

    J.L. French Automotive Castings Inc. moved one step closer to exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy on schedule when a judge signed off on an order approving its disclosure plan Friday.

  • May 15, 2006

    Tower Retrieves $5.5 Million From Kemper Insurance

    Accused of improperly collecting funds, affiliates of an insurance company have been barred by a bankruptcy judge from drawing on credit owed by bankrupt Tower Automotive Inc.

  • May 12, 2006

    J.P. Morgan To Reap $100M In Owens Corning Deal

    J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. may turn out to be the biggest winner in Owens Corning’s asbestos-related bankruptcy case, with the investment bank primed to receive $100 million for its part in the beleaguered fiberglass manufacturer’s upcoming Chapter 11 exit.

  • May 12, 2006

    Restructuring Firm Snapshot: Alvarez & Marsal

    One of the oldest restructuring firms is looking at Europe, Asia and the public sector as venues for future expansion.

  • May 12, 2006

    Collins & Aikman Wins Extension For Reorganization Plan

    Though falling short of the amount of time it had originally asked for, bankrupt auto supplier Collins & Aikman Corp. has received an extra 75 days to have the exclusive right to file its Chapter 11 reorganization plan.

  • May 12, 2006

    Emmis Faces Shareholder Suits Over Bid To Go Private

    Struggling radio broadcasting company Emmis Communications Corp. said this week that its shareholders have filed two lawsuits to protest a $567 million offer by the company’s top executive to take the company private.

  • May 11, 2006

    Gas Dealers Win Settlement In Exxon Price-Fixing Suit

    Striking out against price-gouging in the oil industry, a group of current and former ExxonMobil dealers has settled a class action lawsuit that accused the gas giant of engaging in an anti-competitive scheme to drive the franchisees out of business by unlawfully setting fuel prices.

  • May 11, 2006

    Barr And Eli Lilly Head Back To Court Over Prozac

    Five years after successfully challenging a patent for Eli Lilly’s blockbuster antidepressant Prozac, Barr Laboratories and Eli Lilly will meet again in court, this time over a reissue patent for the drug.

  • May 10, 2006

    Hartford Financial Reaches $20M Settlement With NY, CT

    In the latest development in New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s crackdown on the insurance industry, one of the nation's largest financial services and insurance companies this week reached a $20 million settlement agreement with state authorities in New York and Connecticut over civil fraud charges.

  • May 10, 2006

    Judge Chucks Monsanto’s Claims In Corn Row

    In a blow to biotechnology giant Monsanto Co., a federal Delaware judge has ruled in favor of Swiss archrival Syngenta AG in a long-standing brawl over the rights to an herbicide-resistant type of genetically modified corn.

  • May 10, 2006

    Antitrust Class Action Over Cipro Reinstated

    A Wisconsin appeals court has given the green light to a class action antitrust suit against drug maker Bayer Corp., after ruling that the allegations in the complaint full under the purview of state antitrust law.

  • May 10, 2006

    J.L. French Amends Statement To Appease Lenders

    With trouble brewing with its first-lien lenders, bankrupt auto parts maker J.L. French has responded to their concerns with haste, in hopes of stopping the squabble before it starts.

  • May 10, 2006

    SEC Inspects Diebold’s Revenue Recognition Policy

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has initiated an informal inquiry into Diebold Inc., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of automated teller and electronic voting machines, over how the company identifies revenue.

  • May 10, 2006

    Bankrupt Lender Seeks OK To Collect Loan Payments

    Bankrupt USA Commercial Mortgage Co. has filed motions asking for permission to suspend payments to investors and compel a disbursement agency to free up the lender's funds.

  • May 9, 2006

    Insurance Giants Face Acacia's Barcode Patents

    A subsidiary of patent-holding company Acacia Research Corp. filed a lawsuit against several major insurance companies this week, accusing the companies of infringing its patent for multi-dimensional barcode technology.