Aug. 25, 2010 at 2:39 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Litigation,
Technology,
Updated
By Wailin Wong
Facebook employees write on the Facebook "wall" following a news conference at Facebook's headquarters, August 18, 2010. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Teachbook.com has two employees and fewer than 20 users signed up for its free Web community. The site has yet to officially launch.
But the Northbrook, Ill.-based company, which provides tools for teachers to manage their classrooms and share lesson plans and other resources, has been thrust into the spotlight by social networking giant Facebook, which sued the start-up for using “book” in its name.
“We’ve been sitting here scratching our heads for the last couple of days,” Teachbook’s managing director, Greg Shrader, told the Tribune on Wednesday. “We’re trying to understand how Facebook, a multibillion-dollar company, feels this small enterprise in Chicago is any type of threat.” Get the full story »
Aug. 24, 2010 at 5:40 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Investing,
Litigation,
M&A
By Associated Press
Federal regulators say two Spanish investors made illegal profits of $1.1 million by trading on secret information about BHP Billiton PLC’s bid to acquire Potash Corp. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Juan Jose Fernandez Garcia and Luis Martin Caro Sanchez bought investments that became valuable after the mining company offered $38.5 billion to take over fertilizer maker Potash. Garcia heads the research arm of a bank that was advising BHP on the deal.
Aug. 23, 2010 at 1:50 p.m.
Filed under:
Litigation,
Politics
By Ameet Sachdev
Justice Thomas L. Kilbride in 2007. (Photo from Illinois Supreme Court)
Judicial retention races are usually about as exciting as renewing your driver’s license.
Usually Illinois judges up for retention don’t run against anyone, and the ballot simply asks voters whether they want to keep the jurist on the bench by marking “yes” or “no.” No Illinois Supreme Court justice has ever not been retained.
But this year, negative politics have crept into one retention race with the election more than two months away. Conservative activists are targeting Thomas Kilbride, whose 10-year term on the Illinois Supreme Court is up, setting up a potentially nasty and expensive retention battle that voters have never seen before. Get the full story »
Aug. 20, 2010 at 2:34 p.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Litigation,
Media
By Michael Oneal
The settlement at the heart of Tribune Co.’s proposed reorganization plan has fallen apart, casting doubt on whether the Chicago-based media conglomerate can continue to control its own fate in bankruptcy court.
At a status hearing in Delaware Friday, Tribune Co. lead attorney James Conlan of Sidley Austin said the company planned to file unilateral amendments to its plan by next Friday and threatened to cast the case into extended litigation if the warring parties can’t come to an agreement.
“The debtor has tried mightily to bring the parties together,” Conlan said. “That hasn’t happened.” Get the full story »
By Reuters
Bank of America Corp. and former Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis denied civil fraud charges brought by New York’s attorney general over the bank’s takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. amid the 2008 financial crisis.
In court papers filed Wednesday, Lewis said the state’s prosecutor Andrew Cuomo had no basis in his lawsuit to allege a conspiracy to mislead the public and shareholders about Merrill’s deteriorating finances and Bank of America’s desire for government assistance. Get the full story »
Aug. 19, 2010 at 2:38 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Litigation,
Media,
TV
By Tower Ticker
Add Meredith Vieira on “Today,” Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show” and local radio interviews with WVON-AM’s Cliff Kelley WLS-AM’s Don and Roma Wade to the first wave of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s renewed media offensive.
No sooner did “Fox News Sunday” announce that it would have Blagojevich’s first post-trial Sunday-morning news show interview this weekend than the rest of his dance card filled in.
Aug. 19, 2010 at 12:50 p.m.
Filed under:
Criminal charges,
Fraud,
Government,
Litigation,
Taxes
Six Illinois gas station owners have been indicted on charges of pocketing sales taxes customers paid when they fueled up.
The fraud investigation has recovered nearly $13 million in unpaid sales taxes, according to the Illinois attorney general’s office and state department of revenue. The indictments were the first in an ongoing probe of businesses that fail to pay taxes, Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan said Thursday. More charges against other tax frauds are expected in coming months, she said. Get the full story »
Aug. 19, 2010 at 10:19 a.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Airplanes,
Internet,
Litigation
By Ameet Sachdev
The company Aircell said Thursday that it has settled remaining claims in a patent lawsuit brought against the company over its in-flight Internet system.
The settlement news comes three weeks after a Massachusetts jury found that Aircell had not infringed on a patent owned by Ambit Corp., a technology company based in Massachusetts. Get the full story »
From Bloomberg
The Securities and Exchange Commission has started a formal probe of possible insider trading by current and former officers and directors of mall owner General Growth Properties Inc.
General Growth, which has operated under bankruptcy protection since April 2009 and plans to exit later this year, disclosed the probe in its bankruptcy case Tuesday and in its quarterly report filed with the SEC last week. Get the full story »
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
Donald Trump and his lenders have inked a new loan agreement that resolves long-standing litigation related to the development of his Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago.
Trump and his lenders, led by Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas and Fortress Credit Corp., last week agreed to extend the term on an approximate $600 million construction loan for five years. So, all litigation between the parties has been dismissed. Get the full story »
Aug. 16, 2010 at 7:33 p.m.
Filed under:
Fraud,
Law firms,
Litigation,
Media
By Ameet Sachdev
After the U.S. Supreme Court eviscerated one of the fraud laws used to convict former media baron Conrad Black, federal prosecutors have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the trial error was harmless.
Lawyers for Black say the burden is impossible to meet and that a federal appeals court should toss out his conviction. Black was recently freed from prison after the Supreme Court in June ordered a review of his case because of flawed jury instructions.
Get the full story »
By Ameet Sachdev
One luxury hotel off Michigan Avenue is suing a new competitor in the neighborhood, charging that the latter’s construction hurt business and damaged its reputation.
The Talbott Hotel, 20 E. Delaware Pl., said in a suit filed Thursday that the construction of the adjacent Elysian hotel interfered with its operations.
Guests complained about the noise, dust, fumes, vibration and debris, and the Talbott had to reimburse some guests, the hotel said. Some guests also gave the hotel bad reviews on Web sites such as Orbitz and Hotels.com, the Talbott said.
The Talbott sued the Elysian owners as well as the general contractor and project manager in Cook County Circuit Court. A spokeswoman for the Elysian said she could not immediately comment but would look into the matter. Get the full story »
Aug. 13, 2010 at 3:18 p.m.
Filed under:
Advertising/Marketing,
Litigation
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
The locally owned maker of Hefty trash bags this week filed a lawsuit alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition against rival bag maker Glad Products Co.
In the suit, Pactiv Corp., based in Lake Forest, said that for 17 years it has used the word “basics” on its bags and its stylized mark was trademarked in September 1993. The company charged that Glad is using the word “basic” in connection with its own trash bags, creating confusion in the consumer’s mind between the two brands. Get the full story »
Aug. 13, 2010 at 1:37 p.m.
Filed under:
Corporate governance,
Litigation
By Associated Press
Shareholders of Hewlett-Packard Co. have filed a “derivative lawsuit” against the technology company and its board over fallout from former CEO Mark Hurd’s abrupt resignation last week.
A derivative lawsuit lets shareholders sue executives or board members over claims that their actions harmed the company. Get the full story »
Aug. 12, 2010 at 5:34 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Litigation,
Real estate
A family feud has broken out over the estate of Treasure Island Foods cofounder Christ Kamberos.
A daughter of Kamberos, Christi Kamberos Matthews of Wilmette, is suing her step-mother for allegedly scheming to reduce her inheritance, according to a lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court this week. Get the full story »
