Articles by Jonathan Stempel

Court Allows Banana Farmers’ Toxic Pesticide Claims Against Fruit, Chemical Firms

Hundreds of banana farmers from Central America and South America will again have their day in court, after a U.S. appeals court on Friday revived six lawsuits accusing several big fruit and chemical companies of sickening them with a toxic …

Judge Grants Uber’s Request to Put New York Price Fixing, Arbitration Lawsuit on Hold

A federal judge on Friday granted a request by Uber Technologies Inc. and its chief executive officer to put a passenger’s price-fixing lawsuit against them on hold, while they appeal his refusal to let them arbitrate the dispute. Calling his …

Texas Lawyer Accused of Fraud in BP Oil Spill Case Acquitted in Mississippi

A prominent Texas lawyer was acquitted on Thursday of charges he made up thousands of fake clients to sue BP Plc for damages that the oil company caused in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, court records show. Mikal Watts …

New York Judge: Hedge Fund Head’s $100M Defamation Claim Better Suited for Bahamas

A New York state judge on Wednesday threw out billionaire hedge fund manager Louis Bacon’s $100 million defamation lawsuit against Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard, saying the case tied to their long-running feud over neighboring properties in the Bahamas belongs …

Improved Insurance Results Boost Berkshire Hathaway Q2

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Friday said its second-quarter profit rose 25 percent, helped by improvement in insurance underwriting, investment gains and the purchase of Precision Castparts Corp., Warren Buffett’s largest acquisition. But operating results fell short of analyst forecasts, as …

Judge Rejects PwC Bid to Dismiss $1B Malpractice Suit Over MF Global Collapse

A federal judge rejected PricewaterhouseCoopers’ bid to dismiss a $1 billion lawsuit accusing the accounting firm of professional malpractice for helping cause the October 2011 bankruptcy of MF Global Holdings Ltd, a brokerage once run by former New Jersey Governor …

Pfizer Agrees to $486M Settlement with Shareholders Over Concealing Drug Risks

Pfizer Inc. on Tuesday said it has reached a $486 million settlement of litigation accusing it of causing big losses for shareholders by concealing safety risks associated with its Celebrex and Bextra pain-relieving drugs. The accord is subject to negotiation …

Judge Hits Uber’s Background Check on Passenger Bringing Price-Fixing Suit

A federal judge on Monday banned Uber Technologies Inc. and its Chief Executive Travis Kalanick from using information from a background check on a passenger bringing a price-fixing lawsuit, saying the investigative firm conducting the probe may have engaged in …

Court Rejects Wal-Mart Shareholders’ Claim of Directors’ Liability for Mexican Bribes

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executives and directors persuaded a federal appeals court on Friday to reject shareholder claims that they permitted and then covered up pervasive bribery by officials at the world’s largest retailer’s Mexico unit. By a 3-0 vote, the …

Most Litigation Over Corzine’s Failed MF Global Settled with $132M Deal

Jon Corzine has settled a lawsuit by the trustee for the former New Jersey governor’s company MF Global Holdings Ltd, as part of a $132 million accord to end much of the remaining litigation over the brokerage’s 2011 collapse. Lawyers …