Filed under: Litigation

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General Growth to pay Hughes heirs $230M

General Growth Properties Inc. says it will pay $230 million to some of the heirs of moviemaker and aviation mogul Howard Hughes to settle a dispute over a Las Vegas development. Get the full story »

Two Tribune creditors file own reorganization plan

Two of the largest senior creditors in Tribune Co.’s bankruptcy case filed a plan of reorganization in Delaware bankruptcy court Friday, providing an alternative solution to the management plan that has been in place since earlier this year.

The move makes allies out of two distressed debt hedge funds, Angelo, Gordon & Co. and Oaktree Capital Management, that had until recently been at odds with each other. And it comes in advance of a court-ordered mediation that is scheduled to begin Sept. 26. Get the full story »

William Blair sued over parking meter privatization

From Bloomberg | A Chicago resident claims investment firm William Blair & Co. failed to properly assess the value of a $1.15 billion, 75-year parking meter privatization contract for the city. She is suing the firm, seeking group status on behalf of the city’s 2.8 million residents.

IHOP pancake house takes on prayer group

IHOP has filed a lawsuit against a church group called the International House of Prayer claiming that the group is illegally using the pancake house’s famous acronym.

The legal flap started earlier this month when the International House of Pancakes filed the lawsuit in a federal court in California. Get the full story »

Goldman hit with gender-bias suit

Three former female employees of Goldman Sachs & Co. are suing theĀ  Wall Street firm, charging rampant gender discrimination that unfairly favors men in pay and promotions.

The suit filed Wednesday by the three women alleges that Goldman has violated federal and New York City laws by engaging in a systematic “pattern and practice” of discrimination against female professionals at the firm. They are asking a federal judge to certify the case as a class-action suit on behalf of the firm’s women employees. Get the full story »

Scalia blocks $270M tobacco judgment

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has temporarily blocked a state court order requiring tobacco companies to pay $270 million for a smoking cessation program in Louisiana. Get the full story »

Calamos sued over auction-rate redemptions

From Bloomberg News | Financier John P. Calamos Sr., the founder of Naperville, Illinois-based Calamos Asset Management Inc., is being sued along with his firm by an investor who claims they needlessly spent $280 million to redeem illiquid auction-rate securities in 2008 and 2009.

Hershey in dispute over iPhone chocolate milk app

The Hershey Co. is asking a federal judge to decide whether its iPhone application to make virtual chocolate milk violates another company’s copyright. The Pennsylvania chocolate maker has filed a federal complaint asking for a judgment in its legal dispute with Las Vegas-based software developer Hottrix LLC. Get the full story »

Judge tosses Tiffany’s suit against eBay

A Manhattan federal judge on Monday dismissed Tiffany & Co.’s 6-year-old lawsuit accusing eBay Inc. of allowing the online sale of counterfeit jewelry bearing its name.

U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan on Monday rejected Tiffany’s false advertising claim against eBay. Get the full story »

USDA sued over genetically altered sugar beets

Groups opposed to genetically modified foods have sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture Thursday over the agency’s recent decision to allow limited plantings of altered sugar beets. Get the full story »

Local firm sues Martha Stewart over bedbug product

Martha Stewart is getting under the skin of a Northbrook-based company.

JAB Distributors LLC , which markets patented mattress products under its Protect-a-Bed name, on Thursday filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. over a bedbug-fighting product. Get the full story »

Boeing subsidiary wins appeal over CIA flights

A Boeing Co. subsidiary prevailed on Wednesday against a lawsuit alleging it had helped the CIA illegally transport prisoners to secret facilities overseas, a federal appeals court has ruled.

The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco dismissed the lawsuit against Jeppesen Dataplan Inc, finding that rules protecting state secrets made it impossible for the litigation to proceed. The U.S. Department of Justice intervened in the case on behalf of Jeppesen. Get the full story »

Northern Trust shareholder sues company

A shareholder of Northern Trust Corp. on Tuesday sued the Chicago-based financial services firm, claiming, among other things, that the company’s executives made “improper statements” so they could pump up the stock price and later sell $100 million of their own stock.

Get the full story »

Another setback for Chicago Spire

From Crain’s Chicago Business | The Chicago Spire was dealt another setback Wednesday when a federal judge tossed out a lawsuit by developer Garrett Kelleher seeking to avoid repayment of two loans.

Groupon files infringement suit against Australian businesses

Groupon has filed a trademark and copyright infringement case against two Australian businesses that it claims use “confusingly similar terms” while providing “identical services” to the Chicago-based daily deal site. Get the full story »