Google

     Google sells links to registered trademarks through its AdWords program that direct people to sites that are not associated with the trademark holder, Firepond claims in a class action in Marshall, Texas, Federal Court.

Entertainment

     Four founding members of War want Gerald Goldstein and Far Out Productions enjoined from representing a band featuring co-defendant Lonnie Jordan, a former band member, as "New War" or "Original War" in a tour this summer, in Los Angeles Federal Court.
     
     Crossover Partners sued Lee Daniels Entertainment in New York County Court, in a dispute over profits and accounting for the film, "Provoked."

2010 Olympics

     The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games claims Roadtrips and its president David Guenther are advertising "guaranteed" tickets to Olympic events though they are not authorized ticket resellers, in Vancouver, B.C., Supreme Court.

World Record

     Cathie Jung, a model who claims to be in the Guinness Book of World Record for "the smallest waist on a living person," says Cathiejung.com is violating her trademark to push corsets; she demands ownership of the Internet site, in Alexandria, Va., Federal Court. (The complaint does not say how big her waist is.)

Insurance

     Allstate uses the IntegriClaim System to reduce property damage awards, a class action claims in Pima County Court, Tucson.
     
     Safeco Insurance delays paying valid personal injury claims, a class action claims in Baltimore County Court.

Securities

     iShares Trust put 11 percent of its net assets into Lehman Bros. one day before Lehman collapsed, shareholders complain in a class action in San Francisco Federal Court.

Employment

     Wal-Mart faces another class action accusing it of denying workers overtime pay and rest and meal breaks, in San Francisco Federal Court.
     
     Class-action complaints alleging Labor Code violations have been filed against these defendants: Payless Shoesource, and Pentair Water Pools and Spa, in Los Angeles Superior Court; Staples, in Chicago Federal Court; State Farm Insurance, in Camden, N.J., Federal Court; HSBC Card Services, in Cook County Court; Countrywide Home Loans, and Wyndham Vacation Resorts, in Orlando Federal Court; USA Pork Packers, in Scranton, Pa., Federal Court; Michigan Turkey Producers, in Grand Rapids Federal Court; and Cato Corp., in Birmingham, Ala., Federal Court.
     (Companies not separated by commas are defendants in the same case.)

Banks

     Eleven Banks sued Merrill Lynch in Hartford Superior Court, claiming it fraudulently propped up the auction rate securities market in the summer of 2007, costing them millions of dollars when the market collapsed.
     Plaintiffs in the Merrill Lynch case are Dime Bank, Stafford Savings Bank, Putnam Bank, Thomaston Savings Bank, Northwest Community Bank, Eastern Federal Savings Bank, Bankers' Bank Northeast, Naugatuck Valley Savings Bank, First National Bank of Litchfield, Guilford Savings Bank, and The Wilton Bank.
     
     US Bank is the latest to face a class-action accusing it of charging overdraft fees (of $37.50 each) though customers' accounts have money to cover the debits, in San Francisco Federal Court.

Consumer Class Action

     Fry's Electronics refuses to refund the sales tax on returned items, a class action claims in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Patent

     AT&T, American Express, Visa, Wells Fargo Bank and others violate patent on a "transaction security apparatus," Joao Bock Transaction Systems of Texas claims in Tyler, Texas, Federal Court.
     
     API Technologies claims Facebook, Amazon, AOL, Mapquest and others violate patent on data transmission systems, in Marshall, Texas, Federal Court.
     
     Mr. Bar-B-Q claims Sears Roebuck violates patent on handles for barbecue tools, in Manhattan Federal Court.

Liability

     Robinson Head Start, of Alexander City, Ala., employed Timothy Reese despite complaints that he sexually abused children, the parents of one child claim in Montgomery Federal Court.

Bankruptcy

     White Energy and affiliates, including Plainview BioEnergy, filed for bankruptcy in Delaware, listing more than $100 million in debts.
     
     Capital Corp. of the West filed for bankruptcy in Fresno, listing $6.8 million in assets and $68.1 million in debts.