Jan. 26 at 5:57 p.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Litigation
By Melissa Harris
An appellate court tossed out Gov. Pat Quinn’s signature $31 billion construction program, widespread plans for video poker and higher taxes on candy and booze, declaring Wednesday in a ruling that they were unconstitutional.
The justices ruled the problem with the law is that it violated the state’s basic constitutional tenet that legislation must address a single subject only. They wrote that wide-ranging issues in one of four bills passed in 2009 failed to have a “natural and logical connection.”
The decision knocked out all four laws that represented the backbone of the public works program Quinn put together with bipartisan support two years ago. It was the culmination of an effort with legislative leaders who had found working with former Gov. Rod Blagojevich futile. Get the full story »
Jan. 26 at 8:51 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Litigation,
Restaurants
By Reuters
Taco Bell Corp. is pushing back against a lawsuit that claims the fast food chain’s “seasoned ground beef” is not all it’s made out to be.
Taco Bell said on Tuesday that it plans to take legal action against the “false statements” being made about its food. The chain operates, manages or franchises more than 5,600 locations in the United States, according to the lawsuit. Get the full story »
Jan. 25 at 10:14 a.m.
Filed under:
Litigation,
M&A,
Telecommunications,
Wireless
By Wailin Wong
An Illinois judge has dealt a setback to Motorola in a legal dispute with Chinese company Huawei Technologies over Motorola’s planned sale of its networks business.
Huawei sued Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claiming that the sale of the networks business to Nokia Siemens Networks would represent a misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract between Motorola and Huawei. Get the full story »
By Dow Jones Newswires
Countrywide Financial, a unit of Bank of America Inc., conducted a “massive fraud” over its mortgage-backed securities, according to a lawsuit brought by investors, including TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Co., New York Life Insurance Co. and Dexia Holdings Inc., Bloomberg News reported Tuesday on its Web site. Get the full story »
By Gregory Karp
Taco Bell's lineup of beef tacos. (Taco Bell)
“Where’s the beef?” Wendy’s restaurants once famously asked through its advertising as a swipe at its small-burger competitors.
The same question is now being asked by a California woman regarding Taco Bell’s beef products, which she claims contain very little meat. So little in fact, she’s brought a false-advertising lawsuit against the huge fast-food Mexican restaurant chain. Get the full story »
Jan. 24 at 2:11 p.m.
Filed under:
Litigation,
Technology,
Telecommunications
By Wailin Wong
Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies Co. sued Motorola and Nokia Siemens Networks Monday, seeking to stop the planned $1.2 billion sale of Motorola’s networks business to the European company.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, marks the first time Huawei has sued a U.S. company. Get the full story »
Jan. 24 at 12:43 p.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Litigation,
Media,
Newspapers,
Radio,
TV
By Associated Press
Attorneys for creditors who oppose the Tribune Co.’s proposed reorganization plan are seeking more information related to the 2007 leveraged buyout that left the media conglomerate saddled with debt. Get the full story »
Jan. 24 at 10:35 a.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Jobs/employment,
Litigation
By Reuters
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a federal law barring retaliation against a worker for complaints about on-the-job discrimination also protected the employee’s relative from unlawful dismissal.
The high court unanimously ruled for Eric Thompson, who was fired from his job at a stainless steel manufacturing plant in Kentucky after his fiancee, who also worked there, filed a discrimination complaint. Get the full story »
By Reuters
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that JPMorgan Chase & Co under an old federal regulation did not have to provide written notice before raising credit card interest rates to account holders who defaulted on a payment. Get the full story »
Jan. 21 at 1:23 p.m.
Filed under:
Education,
Government,
Litigation,
Regulations
By Reuters
A group of for-profit schools filed a lawsuit against the federal government Friday to stop implementation of three costly new rules.
The rules were part of a larger package of new regulations being imposed on the for-profit sector, which has been accused of churning out poorly educated students with large debts. Get the full story »
Jan. 19 at 2:44 p.m.
Filed under:
Litigation,
Work culture
By CNN
The Supreme Court has again rejected broad privacy rights for some government workers.
A unanimous bench on Wednesday affirmed the government’s right to conduct personal background checks on current and prospective employees under federal contract, especially those in sensitive or high-security workplaces. Get the full story »
Jan. 19 at 12:13 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Litigation
By Reuters
A federal judge has limited the damages that can be awarded to financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald as part of its lawsuit against American Airlines stemming from the Sept. 11 attacks, according to court documents released Wednesday.
Cantor Fitzgerald was housed on the top five floors of the first of the twin towers to be struck, in this case by American Airlines Flight 11 after it was hijacked in 2001. The company lost 658 of nearly 1,000 local employees in the attack. Get the full story »
Jan. 18 at 3:23 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Health care,
Litigation
By Associated Press
Five New England residents and five national health care advocacy groups are suing the federal government, saying Medicare benefits are being cut improperly after their conditions are determined to be chronic. Get the full story »
Jan. 18 at 2:45 p.m.
Filed under:
Airports,
Government,
Litigation
By Tribune staff report
A passenger plane takes off at O'Hare as work continues in foreground on the runway expansion project. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)
United and American Airlines on Tuesday made good on their threat to sue Chicago to stop the city from issuing bonds to finance the remainder of the expansion project at O’Hare International Airport.
The airlines, which say they cannot afford to help pay for new runways that will not be needed for years, filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court just days after sending a letter on Friday to Mayor Richard Daley, asking for negotiations on the future of the O’Hare Modernization Program. The letter said the expansion must proceed based on future increases in flights. Get the full story »
Jan. 18 at 11:33 a.m.
Filed under:
Litigation,
M&A,
Retail
By Reuters
Clothing retailer J. Crew Group Inc. is set to settle a shareholder lawsuit over its proposed takeover by private equity firms TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners LP.
A $2.86 billion deal to acquire J. Crew was announced on Nov. 23, with TPG Group and Leonard Green & Partners LP agreeing to buy the company for $43.50 a share, a premium of about 15 percent. Get the full story »
