Corporations and securities brief ~ American Express settles lawsuit with New Hampshire News
Corporations and securities brief ~ American Express settles lawsuit with New Hampshire

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, American Express [corporate website] has settled a lawsuit with New Hampshire and residents of the state. The state said it sued after learning the company had pressured agents in New Hampshire to sell its own underperforming options. New Hampshire had originally asked for $17 million in damages. Reuters has more.

In other corporations and securities law news…

  • The IRS has settled with 80 individuals and 33 companies over an abusive stock option scheme. In a press release, the IRS said the companies and executives had tried to defer taxes on their stock options for 30 years by transferring them to a family-held partnership. The IRS offered to settle with all infringing companies and individuals in February for a 10% penalty and has withheld over $400 million from those who agreed to settle. Reuters has more.
  • As reported earlier on JURIST's Paper Chase, the judge in former WorldCom [JURIST report] CEO Bernard Ebber's [Wikipedia profile] criminal trial has rejected his motion for a new trial. Ebbers attorney claimed that Ebbers [JURIST news archive] was entitled to a new trial because the judge, Barbara S. Jones, gave incorrect directions to the jury and because witnesses who could have supported Ebbers' case were not granted immunity. Ebbers was convicted of fraud in March [JURIST coverage] and is expected to be sentenced tomorrow. MarketWatch has more.
  • Also as reported earlier on JURIST's Paper Chase, regulators from the EU raided Intel offices in Germany, Spain, Italy, and the UK today. The EU has been investigating Intel [corporate website] for antitrust violations for 4 years and an EU spokesperson said "the investigations are being carried out within the framework of an ongoing competition case." BBC News has more.