Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.law From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: law Fri, Apr 3 1992 Date: Fri, 3 Apr 92 05:43:48 EST Message-ID: 04-03 0000 DECISIONLINE: Business Law USA TODAY Update April 3-5, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network BAN ON S&L EXPANSION LIFTED: Savings-and-loans were given power by the Bush administration Thursday to open branches nationwide, something commercial banks have been pushing for recently. The lifting of a ban by the Office of Thrift Supervision allows federally chartered thrifts to do business in any state or U.S. territory. The rule was part of a package of changes announced by administration officials. (For more, see special S&Ls package below.) GA. PASSES MEDICAL LEAVE ACT: Georgia this week became the second southern state and the first state in 1992 to pass a Family & Medical Leave Act. Under the bill, which is expected to be signed by Gov. Zell Miller, employees are guaranteed up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for maternity, adoption, employee illness or the illness of a family member. Continued employee health care coverage is required during the leave. UNPAID TAXES HIT $111 BILLION: Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Shirley D. Peterson said Thursday that unpaid federal taxes have hit $111 billion, with businesses accounting for about 60% of that sum. Most of the money from businesses is attributable to failing to turn over payroll taxes collected from workers. About half the corporate backlog is interest and penalties. IMMUNEX SUES HOECHST: Biotechnology company Immunex Thursday filed suit against its marketing partner Hoechst of Germany. Immunex, which saw its stock price plunge 10 1:2 to $31 1:2 Thursday, is accusing Hoechst of undercutting its market for the LEUKINE white-blood cell stimulant. The Seattle-based Immunex charged that Hoechst was giving the drug free to Immunex's customers to capture market share. APPEAL OVER ADS DEFEATED: Johnson & Johnson-Merck, the makers of Mylanta, has lost its appeal of a lawsuit against SmithKline Beecham's antacid Tums, SmithKline said Thursday. Early in 1991, Johnson & Johnson filed a suit against SmithKline and its ad agency, charging that its TV ads for Tums were false and misleading because they implied that ingesting aluminum, the active ingredient in Mylanta, is harmful. LACK OF FUNDING TO COST: Congress' failure Wednesday to extend the Resolution Trust Corp.'s funding for the savings and loan cleanup will cost taxpayers an average of $2.5 million a day, RTC President Albert Casey said Thursday. Casey says if Congress doesn't act before April 15 to restore funding, he projects the RTC won't make any S&L sales the second quarter. BANKAMERICA AGREES TO SETTLE: California-based banking firm BankAmerica said Thursday it has agreed to settle lawsuits involving its role as a trustee for bonds backed by student loans. A spokesman said the preliminary agreement would not effect earnings. LEGAL ACTION TAKEN BY PICO: Pico Products Inc. Thursday announced that it has initiated legal action against Northeast Filter Co. Inc. for breach of contract and patent infringement. Pico says Northeast Filter's license under Pico Products' patent to manufacture and sell certain encoding and positive trapping devices used in cable television security systems had been terminated for failure to pay royalties. EX-WORKER GETS $8.2 MILLION: In Kansas City, Kansas, ex-KPL Gas Service lineman Kenneth Fenstermacher was awarded $8.2 million in damages Thursday by a federal jury for a 1989 accident that cost him both arms. Additional damages are possible next week. KPL says it will appeal the decision. AMNESTY PROGRAM LAUNCHED: In Maryland, a six-week amnesty program was launched for an estimated 57,000 Baltimore County residents obtaining cable illegally, Comcast Cablevision officials said thursday. After May 15, violators could get up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. The firm says it lost about $10 million to cable thieves in 1991. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON S&LS: CHANGES ANNOUNCED: The Bush administration Thursday announced a package of changes in rules governing savings-and-loans. The administration said the changes are designed to promote lending and stimulate the economy. "The President has given the regulators a poke in the ribs," says Deputy Treasury Secretary John Robson. "You'll see a lot of things coming out of this." RULE CHANGE OVERRIDES LAWS: The most significant rule change announced by the Bush administration Thursday overrides laws in some states that forbid interstate thrifts. State-chartered thrifts would still be governed by those laws. While the exact number of thrifts affected could not be determined, industry officials welcomed the changes. "It lifts some burdens," says Jim Eberle of the U.S. Savings League. FEW THRIFTS TO MOVE QUICKLY: The effects of the rule changes by the Bush Administration will not be immediately dramatic, analysts say. Thomas Vartanian, a Washington lawyer who specializes in banking issues, says only several dozen large thrifts are likely to move quickly to open branches in other states. Others may eventually follow, he says. (End of package.) Business Law Editor: Jason P. Smith. (919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. 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