CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
December 5, 2009 | By Elaine Woo
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.
NATIONAL
July 8, 2008 | From Times Wire Reports
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.
BUSINESS
April 15, 2008 | From Times Wire Services
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.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
April 12, 1989
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.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
April 18, 2008 | John L. Mitchell, Times Staff Writer
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.
BUSINESS
August 25, 2009 | Nathan Olivarez-Giles
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.