Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.law,americast.usa-today.law From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: law Tue, Oct 27 1992 Date: Tue, 27 Oct 92 04:59:45 EST Message-ID: 10-27 0000 DECISIONLINE: Business Law USA TODAY Update Oct. 27, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network ZUCKERMAN CAN BUY DAILY NEWS: Publisher Mort Zuckerman Monday received approval from a bankruptcy judge to buy the New York Daily News. His bid was opposed by the Newspaper Guild and the Communication Workers of America, which fear members will lose jobs after Zuckerman, owner of U.S. News & World Report and Atlantic Monthly, takes over. The CWA says it will appeal. HERTZ TURNS DOWN BAD DRIVERS: Recently, car-rental companies - fighting high insurance costs and multimillion-dollar lawsuits - have begun checking state driving records and refusing to rent cars to people with poor records. Although the companies say customers are notified when they make reservations that their driving records will be checked, the actual check is done only at the rental counter. (For more, see special Rent package below.) INSURANCE COMPANIES LIQUIDATED: Regency Insurance Co., a Hallandale, Fla., company, and MCA Insurance Co., based in Oklahoma, have been ordered liquidated due to insolvency caused by claims arising from Hurricane Andrew, it was announced Monday. Insurance claims from policyholders will be covered by the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association to $300,000, said Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher. BCCI DEPOSITORS LODGE CLAIMS: Former depositors of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International have lodged 16,500 claims with the U.K. Deposit Protection Board which reimburses part of the losses of bank depositors, Treasury Minister Anthony Nelson said Monday. Nelson said 5,500 of the claims are with the liquidators awaiting proof of debt forms to be lodged, Bloomberg Business News reported. EDISTO FILES CHAPTER 11: Dallas-based Edisto Resources Corp. Monday filed a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy to resolve debt problems. The long-struggling natural gas concern filed the proposed reorganization plan in Delaware. The proposal calls for Edisto to exchange 90% of its common stock for $113 million in defaulted corporate bonds. Stockholders will retain a 10% stake in the company. COMPANY DOESN'T OWE BACK TAXES: The Cooper Companies, Inc. has received written notification from the Internal Revenue Service that it does not owe any taxes or interest for its taxable year ended Oct. 31, 1984. The IRS had asserted that the liquidation of the company's former parent, Cooper Laboratories, Inc., was incomplete and that as a result the company was liable for taxes and interest of more than $80 million. TRANS UNION FILES ARE FAIR: Trans Union Corp. and the attorneys general of 17 states Monday confirmed in a consent decree all but one of the company's existing policies and procedures for maintaining the accuracy and fairness of its extensive consumer credit files. The one exception involved reducing the price of some credit reports requested by consumers. The decree ends a year of discussions over consumer complaints. COLLAGEN GETS NEW COUNSEL: Collagen Corp. Monday announced the appointment of William Miller as vice president and general counsel. Miller will be responsible for legal affairs, patents and trademarks of Collagen Corp. Miller was most recently general counsel at Boehringer Manheim. Before that his employment included Max Factor & Co., Xerox Corp., Bristol-Meyers Co. and E.I. duPont de Nemours & Co. FDIC DEBT IS SMALLER: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Monday said its outstanding debt through the Federal Financing Bank will be $11.8 billion at year's end, down from $15 billion outstanding on Jan. 1. Spokesman Andrew Porterfield said the FDIC has not said it would borrow more money next year and thus increase its current debt. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON RENT: AGENCIES CHECK N.Y. RECORDS: Hertz, Budget and National car-rental agencies are checking driving records of New York State residents who try to rent cars in the metropolitan area - and refusing to rent cars to those with poor records. Hertz is also checking license records in Florida. National last week began checking records of New York state residents who rent cars in Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y. CHECKS TO BE EXPANDED: National plans to do records checks in Florida, Maryland, North and South Carolina, and Virginia. Avis is developing a program, too. The practice pitches the car-rental industry into the midst of a growing debate over whether motor vehicle records should be open to the public. "It's an invasion of privacy and I have concerns," says Richard Kessel of the New York Consumer Protection Board. POLICIES SAID TO BE UNFAIR: Critics also say the car-rental companies' policies are unfair. Denying a car to someone with a suspended license or a conviction for driving while intoxicated isn't in dispute. But, "If someone gets into three accidents and none was that person's fault, is that person a bad driver?" Kessel says. Rental companies say they've got a legal obligation to keep car keys out of bad drivers' hands. (End of package.) Business Law Editor: Beth Mann. (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. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM