Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.law From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: law Mon, Jun 1 1992 Date: Mon, 1 Jun 92 05:21:13 EDT Message-ID: 06-01 0000 DECISIONLINE: Business Law USA TODAY Update June 1, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network LAWYERS BLAST CRYSTAL: Two New York lawyers from the takeover firm of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz criticize executive pay critic Graef Crystal in the May-June issue of Harvard Business Review. Andrew R. Brownstein and Morris J. Panner cite a study by Michael Kesner of Arthur Andersen & Co. that says a minority of CEOs are overpaid and a minority underpaid, while 80% are paid in line with their performance. CRYSTAL RESPONDS: In response to an article by two lawyers in Harvard Business Review critical of him, executive pay critic Graef Crystal says in The Crystal Report that only 5% of CEO pay can be attributed to company performance. Also, Crystal says a study cited by the lawyers is fatally flawed by statistical fudging. The author of the study, Michael Kesner, says Crystal's points are "fallacious." DRUG ADS CALLED MISLEADING: Prescription drugs ads in the nation's leading medical journals could easily mislead doctors into prescribing the wrong medications for their patients, says a study in Monday's Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers from UCLA found that 92% of the drug ads studied failed to comply with at least one advertising standard established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA SCRUTINY TIGHTENING: In response to a study that found almost all ads for prescription drugs in medical journals contain some misleading information, Geoff Teeter of CIBA-GEIGY Pharmaceuticals says all new drug ads are "pre-cleared" by the FDA. David Kessler, Commissioner of the FDA, says scrutiny of the ads is tightening, but the industry needs to be more responsible. JAPANESE ECONOMY BLAMED: Japanese Trade Minister Kozo Watanabe Friday blamed Japan's sluggish economy for the slow growth of U.S. semiconductor sales in his country, not inadequate efforts by the nation's companies. Watanabe defended Japan's efforts in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills, who has said the USA will be closely watching those sales to see if they are meeting agreed upon levels. GAMBLING AD SUIT FILED: Two Nevada NBC affiliates, Sundbelt Broadcasting Co.'s KVBC (Las Vegas) and KRNV (Reno), have filed suit against the federal government and the Federal Communications Commission, charging that their ban against gambling ads is unconstitutional. Broadcasters are allowed to air ads for casinos, hotels and restaurants as long as there is no mention or pictures of gambling. AT&T TALKS CONTINUE: Contract talks between AT&T and unions representing 127,000 workers continued Sunday in an effort to avert a strike. AT&T, the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers failed to reached an agreement before their contract expired at 11:59 EDT Saturday. But negotiators say progress had been made and a settlement is within reach. SCIENTOLOGY SUIT DISMISSED: A U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., dismissed a Church of Scientology lawsuit against an Eli Lilly executive Friday. The court said remarks about Scientology made by a Lilly vice-president, Mitchell Daniels Jr., in USA TODAY were not defamatory. PROPERTY TAXES IN QUESTION: Cities in Tennessee were told last week they could lose up to $20 million and counties up to $51 million as the result of appeals of property tax assessments by South Central Bell, Federal Express and several other companies. The firms are contesting their tax bills in federal court and in appeals to the state Board of Equalization. BORLAND FILES TO DISMISS CLAIMS: Borland International Inc. Friday announced that it has filed papers in Federal District Court to dismiss the copyright infringement cases of Ashton-Tate Corporation vs. Fox Software Inc. and The Santa Cruz Operation Inc. All counter-claims against Ashton-Tate were dismissed on May 21. ANTI-DUMPING PETITION FILED: Black & Decker Corp. Friday said it has filed an anti-dumping duty petition with the Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission on behalf of the U.S. power tool industry relating to professional power tools imported from Japan. The petition alleges that Japanese manufacturers have been dumping professional power tools in the U.S. market. CLAIMS REJECTED: The U.S. Circuit Court in Washington has rejected anticompetitive claims against Consumer Power Co. brought by a group of tax-exempt utilities, the Michigan Municipal Cooperative Group. The three-judge court affirmed Federal Energy Regulatory Commission orders authorizing $900 million in short-term borrowings by the company. Business Law Editor: Jason P. Smith. (919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. 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