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 Wed, Apr 22 1992 Date: Wed, 22 Apr 92 05:41:50 EDT Message-ID: 04-22 0000 DECISIONLINE: Business Law USA TODAY Update April 22, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network FUTURE OF AIRLINES UNCERTAIN: An executive at Standard & Poor's Corp. said Tuesday that TWA and America West Airlines now "look less likely" to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, due to the current fare war. Continental Airlines, the third major airline in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, still has a better than even chance of emerging, said Philip Baggaley, S&P vice president and airline bond analyst. GENERAL DYNAMICS AGREES TO PAY: General Dynamics Corp. Tuesday agreed to pay a $50,000 fine as part of a legal settlement over a hazardous waste spill. General Dynamics allegedly illegally spilled 10,000 gallons of hazardous waste into soil at a San Diego plant. FLOOD COSTS SPIRAL: Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar said Tuesday he will lobby Congress to get the U.S. government to pay for costs associated with flooding last week in Chicago. While no figures have been determined, estimates of damages continue to climb and have been estimated at over $1 billion. The disaster assistance formula calls for the federal government to pay 75% of costs. MORE SPOTTED OWLS FOUND: Officials say the spotted owl still needs protection, despite evidence that many more exist than originally thought. A 1990 federal survey estimated there were 10 owl pairs on non-federal land. But landowners have found 122 owl pairs or nesting sites on private land, and 331 more pairs or sites just inside federal boundaries. COURT MAKES COLLECTING TOUGHER: The Supreme Court Tuesday made it tougher for creditors to get at money that bankrupt debtors wrongly claimed was exempt from being used to pay bills. The ruling said any claimed exemptions - even if they have no legal basis - may not be challenged after the 30-day period federal bankruptcy law provides for such challenges. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the court. FRANCHISE OWNER GETS SETTLEMENT: Domino's pizza franchise owner Mike Kauth has won an out-of-court settlement allowing him to drop the chain's rule requiring delivery in 30 minutes or less. Kauth, who runs 25 Domino's in Washington and Oregon, said publicity from traffic deaths and injuries involving Domino's drivers harmed business and that the $3 rebate on late pizzas cost him as much as $200,000 a month. COURT RULES IN WORKER CASE: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has cleared the way for contractors to use "helpers" or "semi-skilled" workers on federal construction projects. The court ruled that the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1991, which denied funding for the DOL to implement the helper regulations, was not intended to permanently ban the category. MORATORIUM MAY BE EXTENDED: Vice President Dan Quayle said Tuesday the 90-day moratorium on new federal regulations that expires next week might be extended because it has eased the burden on industries and allowed them to innovate. President Bush imposed the moratorium Jan. 28. Quayle said the White House Council on Competitiveness, of which he is chairman, will recommend that the regulatory freeze be extended. CLEANUP RULING AFFIRMED: The Superior Court, Appellate Division, in Newark, N.J., has affirmed a trial court's decision that Diamond Shamrock Chemicals Co. (now Maxus Energy Co.) cannot receive an estimated $100 million in cleanup costs from dioxin contamination from insurer Aetna. The court also reversed the trial court's award of coverage for the company's $23 million contribution to an Agent Orange settlement. FIRM AWARDED $137.3M: A federal jury in Houston has awarded former commodities brokerage ContiCommodity Services Inc. $137.3 million, finding that one of its ex-employees participated in illegal, prearranged trades with the defendant, Prescott, Ball & Turben. The verdict includes compensatory damages of $3.3 million for fraud and racketeering and $134 million in punitive damages, reports the National Law Journal. PARALEGAL FIELD GROWS: The field of paralegal work is among the fastest-growing in the USA, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Rollins College plans to start a paralegal training program this year at campuses in Miami, Winter Park and Orlando, Fla. FIRM RETAINED IN CLASS ACTION: The Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin has been retained to defend Mitsubishi Electronics Inc., Zenith Distributing Corp. of Southern California and Zenith Distributing Corp. of Northern California. A class action was filed in March against the firms by about 20 members of the California State Electronics Association seeking $800,000 in damages. 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. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM