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 Thu, Jun 11 1992 Date: Thu, 11 Jun 92 05:20:27 EDT Message-ID: 06-11 0000 DECISIONLINE: Business Law USA TODAY Update June 11, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network CRANDALL DEFENDS AMERICAN: American Airlines Chairman Robert Crandall testified Wednesday before a Senate committee on airline competition a day after his airline was sued by Continental for alleged predatory pricing. Crandall - under fire for slashing domestic airfares 50% - said bad management, not keen competition, is killing weaker airlines. The suit alleges American is trying to drive other airlines out. UPI MAY SHUT DOWN FRIDAY: United Press International may be forced to shut down Friday if it cannot find another buyer to replace Pat Robertson. Robertson on Wednesday withdrew his $6 million bid for UPI, which is under bankruptcy court protection. Later, he offered to buy UPI's name and some contracts that would let him use UPI news photos for $500,000 - a bid rejected by UPI and its creditors committee. STRIKER BILL UP FOR VOTE: The Senate could vote Thursday on a bill to prohibit companies from permanently replacing strikers. Republicans and a handful of Southern Democrats opposed to the legislation threatened a filibuster. Labor Secretary Lynn Martin renewed the threat of a presidential veto. SIERRA CLUB FILES SUIT: The Sierra Club filed suit in San Francisco Wednesday to block the Bush administration's decision to suspend the Endangered Species Act and allow logging on 13 Oregon timber tracts that are home to the rare northern spotted owl. The suit charges the Interior Department did not follow proper procedures when it convened a special panel to vote on the exemptions. IBM WINS COURT CASE: The U.S. District Court in Asheville, N.C., Tuesday issued an injunction against Lasertek prohibiting it from using IBM trademarks and packaging design for toner cartridges for laser printers. The court found that Lasertek reconditioned and refilled one-time-use IBM LaserPrinter toner cartridges and remarketed them in packages designed to mimic IBM toner cartridge packaging. AT&T TALKS FOCUS ON FEW ISSUES: AT&T and unions representing 127,000 workers said Wednesday they have narrowed the focus of their contract talks to a handful of critical issues. "We've reached a point in the negotiations ... where we're down to three or four key issues," AT&T spokesman Herb Linnen said. "But they're critical to both sides." Job security, pay and pensions are among the key issues. GROUP WANTS CABLE BILL ACTION: A coalition of groups representing cable television users and broadcast industry workers Wednesday called on Congress to swiftly adopt legislation to once again regulate the cable industry. "Every day Congress fails to pass cable legislation costs consumers," said Gene Kimmelman of the Cable Consumer Coalition. "Inaction allows cable to continue overcharging consumers." ROSENTHAL GUILTY ON ONE CHARGE: Former Drexel Burnham Lambert executive Alan Rosenthal was acquitted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on four of five charges that he helped Michael Milken break securities laws. Milken testified against Rosenthal in the case. The jury found Rosenthal guilty on a lesser count of offering a gratuity in connection with a pension plan. He faces up to three years in prison. BRENNAN CONTESTS IRS CLAIM: Montgomery Ward Chairman Bernard Brennan is contesting a claim by the IRS that he owes millions of dollars in taxes dating back to management's $3.8 billion buyout of the retailer in 1988. Brennan paid $1 a share for 2.9 million shares of the company. The IRS says the stock was worth $83 a share and Brennan owes $68 million in back taxes. About 45 company executives are involved. SUBCOMMITTEE TO HEAR ABOUT LEAK: Star Enterprises, a Texaco affiliate, faces 52 lawsuits seeking $234 million for an underground oil leak in the Mantua section of Fairfax County, Va., one of the nation's most affluent counties. Thursday, a House Judiciary subcommittee hears testimony on the spill. The EPA estimates as much as 200,000 gallons of fuel may have leaked, but Virginia estimates it is 700,00 gallons. WASHINGTON EMPLOYERS FINED: Twenty-nine employers in Washington state have been fined a total of $113,672 in civil penalties for hiring 118 underage children, working them more and later hours than allowed, and working them on hazardous jobs, the U.S. Department of Labor said Wednesday. Companies cited included restaurants, groceries and a country club. CASINO BILL APPROVED: In the Virgin Islands, the Legislature Wednesday approved a bill calling for a referendum - in the Nov. 3 general election - on whether to allow casino gambling. An amendment to the bill requires a simple majority of voters who actually go to the polls instead of the customary majority of all registered voters 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. 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