Friday, October 23, 2009Last Update: 6:56 PM PT

     Florida accused Xolutex, Ceasar Tavaras, George Ibanez, Paola Pino, Laura Ibanez, and Guillermo Gomez of running a foreclosure-rescue scam, in Miami-Dade County Court.

     Venco Imtiaz Construction Co. claims Symbion Power owes it $4 million for subcontracting work on a power plant outside Kabul, Afghanistan, in DC Federal Court.

     Nokia claims Apple's wireless phones, including the iPhone, violate 10 Nokia patents, in Delaware Federal Court.
     
     Sony claims Viewsonic and a slew of Chinese corporations violate nine patents on TV and coding and decoding, in Los Angeles Federal Court.
     
     Precision Dynamics claims Sage Hospitality Resources violates three microchip patents, in Los Angeles Federal Court.

     Art historian Jeffrey Hoffeld claims the Proskauer Rose law firm and Kerstin Lindholm owe him $72,000 for his services in litigation over the Andy Warhol painting, "Red Elvis," in New York County Court.

     A class action claims Honda Acuras with automatic transmissions "lock up" and shift into lower gear during normal use, causing skids and loss of control, in Los Angeles Superior Court.

     Barry Rosen claims Twentieth Century Fox used his photos of Amy Weber without permission, in Los Angeles Federal Court.

     Selex Communications claims Google's "Click2Call" feature violates a Selex patent, in Atlanta Federal Court.

     A gay teacher claims the Archdiocese of Newark fired him on false charges after he rejected homosexual advances from a deputy superintendent of schools, in a discrimination claim in Essex County Court.
     
     Class-action complaints alleging Labor Code violations have been filed against these defendants: PetcoAnimal Supplies, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Select Media Services, and CBS Personnel Services/Staffmark Investment, in Los Angeles Superior Court; See's Candy Shops, in San Diego Superior Court; Premier Transportation, in Albuquerque Federal Court; McLaughlin Communications, in Harrisonburg, Va., Federal Court; Nursing Unlimited 2000, in Miami Federal Court; The Cash Store, and The Roosevelt Place Assisted Living & Alzheimers Specialty Care, in Newnan, Ga., Federal Court.
     (Companies not separated by commas are defendants in the same case.)

     The American Housing Foundation claims Bank America cost it as much as $80 million in auction rate securities frauds and fees, in Dallas County Court.

     A plastic surgery patient claims Dr. Steven Bloch and his North Shore Ambulatory Surgery Center posted before-and-after photos of her on his Web site without permission, overcharged her, and is still dunning her for overcharges, in Lake County Court, Ill.

     A former branch manager claims Sunstate Bank fired him for truthfully reporting suspicions of a customer's money laundering, after the bank president threatened to fire anyone who filled out a suspicious activity report, in Miami-Dade County Court.

     Freelance photographer James Quodomine claims Newark police Officer Brian Sharif beat him as he filmed a demonstration, and the city maliciously prosecuted him based on Sharif's false statements, in Newark Federal Court.

     A boy suffered severe burns because his Jerzees Apparel shirt was not flame-resistant, his parents claim in Philadelphia state court. They also sued Briefly Stated, Kmart, and Forman Mills.

     Attorney Paul Harmon claims WCLT radio and its owner-employee Douglas Pricer defamed him in October 2008, when he was a judicial candidate. He demands $500,000 in Licking County Court, Newark, Ohio.

     The Village of Lawrence demands $1.2 million from CNA Insurance, which allegedly overcharged the village for reduced coverage, in breach of contract, in Nassau County Court, Mineola, N.Y.

     iPCS shareholders say in Cook County Court that the company is selling itself too cheaply to Sprint Nextel, for $831 million, or $24 a share.

     NTK Holdings and affiliates, including Zephyr Corp., Nutone, Nordyne International, and Huntair, filed for bankruptcy in Delaware, listing $1.6 billion in assets and $2.8 billion in debts.