Thursday, December 27, 2012
Settlement reached in Toyota case
LOS ANGELES
Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it has reached a settlement worth more than $1 billion in a case involving hundreds of lawsuits over acceleration problems in its vehicles.
The company said in a statement that the deal will resolve cases involving motorists who said the value of their vehicles plummeted after a series of recalls by the Japanese automaker stemming from claims of sudden-acceleration defects.
Lawyer Steve Berman, a plaintiffs’ attorney, said the settlement is the largest settlement in U.S. history involving automobile defects.
The proposed deal was filed Wednesday and must receive the approval of U.S. District Judge James Selna, who was expected to review the settlement Friday.
Justice refuses to block pill rule
WASHINGTON
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has denied a request to block part of the federal health care law that requires employee health-care plans to provide insurance coverage for the morning-after pill and similar emergency-contraception pills.
Hobby Lobby Stores and a sister company, Mardel Inc., sued the government, claiming the mandate violates the religious beliefs of its owners.
In an opinion issued Wednesday, Justice Sotomayor said the stores fail to satisfy the demanding legal standard for blocking the requirement on an emergency basis. She said the companies may continue their challenge to the regulations in the lower courts.
US aims to avoid borrowing limit
WASHINGTON
The U.S. Treasury Department will begin taking steps to delay hitting the government’s $16.4 trillion borrowing limit Monday.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a letter Wednesday to congressional leaders that the department will use accounting measures to save approximately $200 billion, which could keep the government from reaching the limit for about two months.
The move comes as President Barack Obama and the GOP congressional leadership are locked in negotiations over how to avoid a series of tax increases and spending cuts, known as the “fiscal cliff,” that are scheduled to take effect in the new year.
Stocks fall on poor holiday sales
NEW YORK
For the stock market, this week hasn’t been the most wonderful time of the year.
U.S. stocks fell Wednesday for the third trading day in a row. Disappointing holiday sales weighed heavy on retail companies, and the unwelcome “fiscal cliff” package of higher taxes and lower government spending loomed nearer.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 24.49 points to 13,114.59. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 6.83 to 1,419.83 and the Nasdaq composite lost 22.44 to 2,990.16.
Vindicator wire services