Settlements

As part of a settlement with federal regulators, 13 lenders this week are starting to pay out $3.6 billion to more than 4 million troubled borrowers whose homes were in foreclosure proceedings in 2009 and 2010. A chart released Tuesday by the regulators showed that most of the borrowers would receive $300, the minimum allowed under the settlement terms. The maximum of $125,000 would go to 1,135 borrowers whose homes were seized while they were serving in the military or who were current on their payments.

MALEH, West Bank - In remote Palestinian villages of the northern Jordan Valley, children read by gas lamp, and water must be purchased from miles away, even when electricity lines and water pipes to Israeli settlements run directly past their homes. Near Nablus, a Palestinian farmer whose home is nearly surrounded by Jewish communities says settlers frequently harass him, digging up crops, and once poisoning his cow. And in Khader, south of Jerusalem, a carjacker once escaped Palestinian police by simply crossing the street into a part of town under Israeli jurisdiction.

At the headquarters of Boston Medical Group in Costa Mesa, six salesmen were working the toll-free appointment line on a recent afternoon, fielding calls from men around the country enticed by newspaper and radio ads promising a "proven" solution to erectile dysfunction in "one office visit. " The results are visible "right there in the office," one sales representative told a caller. "It's amazing. " Following a script, he answered a few questions and offered to schedule a $195 consultation at one of the company's 21 U.S. clinics.

UC Berkeley is making its vast library collections and course textbooks more readily available to students with visual and other impairments under an agreement reached Tuesday that could set a precedent for universities nationwide. The settlement with the nonprofit legal group Disability Rights Advocates was reached after more than a year of negotiations and will provide students with physical, developmental, learning and visual disabilities more timely access to printed materials in alternative formats such as Braille, large print and audio.

MALEH, West Bank - In remote Palestinian villages of the northern Jordan Valley, children read by gas lamp, and water must be purchased from miles away, even when electricity lines and water pipes to Israeli settlements run directly past their homes. Near Nablus, a Palestinian farmer whose home is nearly surrounded by Jewish communities says settlers frequently harass him, digging up crops, and once poisoning his cow. And in Khader, south of Jerusalem, a carjacker once escaped Palestinian police by simply crossing the street into a part of town under Israeli jurisdiction.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis reached a financial settlement with six men who claimed they were sexually molested by five priests as far back as the 1960s, victims' advocacy group SNAP said. The men will be paid $312,500, with individual settlements of $20,000 to $90,000, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests reported. The group said the settlements were finalized in recent weeks through mediation. An attorney for the archdiocese confirmed that several abuse cases had been resolved.

Nearly six years after the collapse of WorldCom Inc., the Securities and Exchange Commission barred two former Arthur Andersen auditors from practicing before the agency in settlements of claims that they inadequately scrutinized the 2001 earnings as the communications company was defrauding investors. Melvin Dick, 54, and Kenneth Avery, 41, should have arranged more thorough audits after learning WorldCom executives had reason and opportunity to deceive shareholders, the SEC said Monday.

In a settlement ending five years of litigation, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to pay $885,000 to the owners of 16 Malibu homes damaged by the Big Rock Mesa landslide. Three months ago, in a first round of settlements, the supervisors agreed to pay $35 million as the county's share of a $97-million award to 240 other owners whose homes were damaged or destroyed during the 1983 slide. The state and insurance companies have agreed to pay the rest. The amount awarded Tuesday, about $52,000 per home, was less than the $146,000 per home the county agreed to pay in January because the houses involved were not as severely damaged, officials said.

A longtime Carson activist, whose head-smack of a political opponent was captured on video and spread worldwide on YouTube, reached a settlement Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Compton to avoid criminal prosecution and the possibility of a six-month jail sentence.

Marc Christian MacGinnis, who won a multimillion-dollar settlement in 1991 from the estate of his ex-lover, actor Rock Hudson, after convincing a jury Hudson had knowingly exposed him to AIDS, has died. He was 56. Known as Marc Christian, he died of pulmonary problems June 2 at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. The details were confirmed Friday by his sister, Susan Dahl, who said she did not publicly announce his death earlier because of her brother's wish for privacy.

NEW YORK - As Bank of America Corp. pulls itself free from a swamp of mortgage liabilities, new troubles keep threatening to suck it back under. BofA agreed to settle a big insurer's claims over faulty mortgage bonds for $1.7 billion Monday. But it found itself threatened with new legal action for failing to abide by a landmark settlement aimed at saving homeowners from foreclosure. The Charlotte, N.C., bank said it would settle a lawsuit dating from the financial crisis with mortgage insurance specialist MBIA Inc. The insurer had been pressing BofA for more than $5 billion in damages.

The classic Maya civilization, which flourished in Central America for more than 600 years, has been celebrated for its vast city states adorned with monumental pyramids and for its technological feats such as the development of an elaborate written language and impressively accurate astronomical observations. But for decades, archaeologists have argued over the birth of the culture that spawned those splendid cities about 1000 BC. Did Maya society spring from the Olmec civilization of Mexico's Gulf Coast, known for its colossal carved stone heads?

A settlement has been reached with two women mistakenly shot by Los Angeles police during the manhunt for fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner, Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich announced Tuesday. Details of the deal were not released; a statement from Trutanich's office said they would be made available at a 2 p.m. news conference. Margie Carranza, 47, and her mother, Emma Hernandez, 71, were delivering newspapers in Torrance on Feb. 7 when LAPD officers fired repeatedly on their blue Toyota Tacoma.

Los Angeles Times reporters Andrew Blankstein and Kate Mather will join L.A. Now Live at 9 a.m. Wednesday to discuss the $4.2-million settlement reached between Los Angeles and the women mistakenly shot at by LAPD officers during the manhunt for ex-cop Christoper Dorner. Margie Carranza, 47, and her mother, Emma Hernandez, 71, were delivering Los Angeles Times newspapers in Torrance on Feb. 7 when LAPD officers shot repeatedly at their blue Toyota Tacoma. Hernandez was shot twice in the back, and Carranza's hands were injured by either broken glass or shrapnel, their attorney, Glenn Jonas, said.

The two women mistakenly shot at by Los Angeles police during a manhunt for fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner have reached a $4.2-million settlement that will save the city millions, attorneys said Tuesday. The Los Angeles City Council must still ratify the agreement, announced Tuesday by Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich and Glen Jonas, who is representing the women. Margie Carranza, 47, and her mother, Emma Hernandez, 71, were delivering newspapers in Torrance on Feb. 7 when LAPD officers shot repeatedly at their blue Toyota Tacoma.

The women injured when Los Angeles police opened fire on them during the manhunt for ex-cop Christopher Dorner have reached a $4.2-million settlement with the city, sources told The Times. Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich announced a settlement had been reached Tuesday afternoon. More details were expected at a 2 p.m. news conference. Margie Carranza, 47, and her mother, Emma Hernandez, 71, were delivering newspapers in Torrance on Feb. 7 when LAPD officers shot  repeatedly at their blue Toyota Tacoma.

Fast-money lender CashCall Inc.-- known for TV ads featuring faded child star Gary Coleman talking about his financial problems -- agreed Monday to pay $1 million to settle state prosecutors' allegations that the company ran deceptive ads and used "loan shark tactics" to collect debt from customers. CashCall specializes in making loans in as little as one day with only a signature needed to get cash. But the Anaheim company charges most customers extremely high interest rates while advertising that its rates are low, according to a civil complaint filed by the California attorney general's office.

California's newest multimillionaire didn't get rich by winning the lottery. He blew the whistle on the Bank of America. Patrick Stull, along with his attorneys, will receive $25 million of BankAmerica's $187.5-million settlement of a lawsuit alleging that the bank cheated municipal bond issuers. BankAmerica is the biggest bank in the nation since its $40-billion merger with NationsBank Corp. in September.

Two years ago, Rupert Murdoch and other board members of News Corp. were sued by shareholders for lax oversight and alleged misdeeds within the sprawling media conglomerate. News Corp. on Monday agreed to settle the case.  Now here's the punch line: News Corp. will be the one collecting the $139 million settlement -- not the shareholders who brought the suit. ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll Here's how that worked out: Insurance companies that represent News Corp.'s board will make the payout on behalf of Murdoch and others on News Corp.'s board.

Neither Frank nor Jamie McCourt spared any expense in enlisting a team of attorneys for what is believed to be the costliest divorce case in California history. The case had apparently ended with a settlement in October 2011, in which Jamie McCourt accepted $131 million and relinquished any claim to the Dodgers. Jamie McCourt signed the agreement against the advice of one of her attorneys, Bert Fields. In an email he sent to one of Frank McCourt's attorneys, Fields said he had advised Jamie McCourt not to proceed, in the belief that her ex-husband had not provided all the financial information necessary "for her to make an informed decision.