Visit our Filed page for categories. To browse by specific topic, see our Inside page. For a list of companies covered on this site, visit our Companies page.
Northwest Airlines, which was bought by Delta Air Lines Inc. in 2008, has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $38 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices on air cargo shipments, the U.S. Justice Department said Friday.
Under the plea agreement, it said Northwest has agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing antitrust investigation.
By Ameet Sachdev and Ray Gibson | A federal appeals court said it took the extraordinary step this week of removing a judge from the middle of a criminal trial because the judge’s conduct showed bias against the prosecutors.
A three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals explained Friday why three days earlier it ordered U.S. District Chief Judge James Holderman off the trial of a man facing drug charges. Their opinion blasted Holderman for his abuse of discretion and hostility toward prosecutors. Get the full story »
From the Wall Street Journal | Europe’s highest court has ruled that Anheuser-BuschInBev cannot get a trademark for the Budweiser brand across the continent.
In a battle between two big toothpaste makers, Colgate-Palmolive Co. sued GlaxoSmithKline Plc Thursday, seeking a court order that its use of the “Triple Action” tagline and a three-stripe “nurdle” does not infringe the latter’s trademarks.
Colgate said it is concerned that Glaxo, which makes Aquafresh toothpaste, might sue over its use of the nurdle, given that the British company recently filed a trademark application that covers its design. Get the full story »
By Ameet Sachdev and Ray Gibson | In an extraordinary maneuver, the federal appeals court in Chicago removed a judge from an ongoing criminal trial after ruling that he had made an error in the case.
The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals did not give an explanation in its Tuesday order, which dismissed U.S. District Judge James Holderman from the jury trial of a man facing drug charges. The court said it would follow up with an opinion.
The lack of explanation left court watchers wondering what Holderman did to incite such a harsh penalty. The appellate court reverse judges all the time. But removing one in the middle of a trial may be unprecedented. Get the full story »
Nooks and crannies and Twinkies don’t go together, at least not just yet.
A federal appeals court has upheld an injunction blocking one of only seven people who know the recipe for Thomas’ English Muffins from jumping to a rival.
Tuesday’s ruling by the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia lets Grupo Bimbo SAB, a Mexican food company that owns the Thomas’ brand, continue blocking Chris Botticella from jumping to rival Hostess Brands Inc. Get the full story »
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Joseph Freed & Associates has been hit with another foreclosure suit over Block 37. This time U.S. Bank is seeking $16.75 million related to a mortgage the developer took out on the retail property.
Motorola Inc. is facing a lawsuit from a group of former employees alleging that exposure to hazardous chemicals caused birth defects in their children.
The suit, filed last week in Cook County Circuit Court, names 71 plaintiffs. The filing also lists more than 30 children who, according to the suit, suffered injuries as a result of their parents’ exposure to hazardous substances used to make semiconductors. Get the full story »
New Bratz dolls (AP)
New Bratz dolls are heading to toy stores after a federal court overturned a ruling that their maker, MGA Entertainment, had to turn over the brand to Mattel Inc.
Two new lines of the doe-eyed dolls should hit stores such as Toys R Us, Target and Walmart by the end of August. Get the full story »
Under pressure from its creditors and unions, bankrupt Tribune Co. agreed to cut back on the bonuses it would pay under its proposed 2010 management incentive plan.
The move comes as Chicago-based Tribune Co. seeks to win approval from creditors for a reorganization plan that would allow it to exit a bankruptcy case that has dragged on for almost 20 months. Get the full story »
Conrad Black enters the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Friday. (Terrence Antonio James/ Chicago Tribune)
U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve said she would not allow Conrad Black, who once controlled a media company that owned the Chicago Sun-Times, to return to his home in Canada until she has more information about his financial condition. She asked to return Aug. 16 with a complete and thorough financial affadavit.
Black arrived in St. Eve’s Chicago courtroom for a 12:30 p.m. hearing to learn the conditions of his recent release from prison. He wore a blue suit and salmon-colored tie, and was accompanied by his wife Barbara Amiel Black. He didn’t say anything, but smiled and gave a thumbs up.
U.S. mobile phone maker Motorola Inc. has sued China’s Huawei Technologies Co. for alleged theft of trade secrets, highlighting the fast-growing Chinese firm’s difficulty in shaking the nation’s reputation for piracy.
In the amended complaint, filed on July 16 in a federal court in Chicago, Motorola claimed an engineer shared information about a Motorola transceiver and other technology with Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, a former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army. Get the full story »
Conrad Black left a Florida prison Wednesday, after a Chicago federal judge ordered his release on a $2 million bond pending a review of his 2007 fraud conviction.
U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve ordered Black, who once controlled a media company that owned the Chicago Sun-Times, to appear in her courtroom at 12:30 p.m. Friday, to go over the conditions of his release. Get the full story »
The European Union plans on Wednesday appealed a World Trade Organization ruling that Airbus SAS received $20 billion in illegal government subsidies that unfairly tilted the global aircraft market — to the detriment of Chicago-based Boeing Co. The appeal had been widely expected, and will likely prolong the already long-running dispute between the E.U. and U.S. over government funding to planemakers Airbus and Boeing. Get the full story »
Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $550 million in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations of misleading investors.
