Trust Funds

U.S. District Court Judge Manuel L. Real, who has endured a rare public censure by the federal judiciary, the threat of impeachment and removal from several cases for questionable conduct, now faces demands to account for $5 million or more in apparently missing trust funds. Lawyers for rival Filipino groups laying claim to the seized assets of late Philippines Dictator Ferdinand Marcos have petitioned a federal appeals court to demand that Real provide a detailed accounting of $35.

Hoping to prevent a repeat of some of the chaos that followed the federal takeover of failed IndyMac Bank, regulators on Friday eased some rules on FDIC insurance for one type of bank account. The account, called a revocable trust, is a deposit that can be owned by one or more people and is willed to a predetermined beneficiary or beneficiaries upon the death of the owner. Under previous rules, the owner of a revocable trust account was insured up to $100,000 for each "qualifying beneficiary."

Neil Kadisha is one of Los Angeles' richest people, with a fortune based largely on his stake in the once-highflying wireless tech firm Qualcomm Inc. The 51-year-old venture capitalist and father of three -- worth $910 million by one estimate -- also is known as a generous benefactor of charitable causes here and in Israel. But a recent court decision casts him in a far harsher light, finding that he relied on more than savvy for his success.

Round one goes to the towhead photographer Larry Birkhead in the ongoing legal battle with his former attorney, Debra Opri. In a tentative ruling issued Thursday, Judge Charles C. Lee denied Opri's request to take the matter to arbitration and granted Birkhead's request for a preliminary injunction, which would require Opri to return $591,250 of Birkhead's money, which now sits in her attorney-client trust fund.

The owner of a Warwick, R.I., nightclub that caught fire during a rock concert has announced the creation of an education fund for more than 75 children who lost a parent in the blaze. The February 2003 fire, which began when pyrotechnics for the rock band Great White ignited flammable soundproofing foam, killed 100 people and injured more than twice that many. Jeffrey Derderian said the Station Education Fund could cover expenses such as tutoring, books, field trips and athletic equipment.

As bargainers for the United Auto Workers and General Motors Corp. continue to haggle in Detroit, the big issue in the contract talks comes down to this: If GM pays the union to take on the company's huge retiree healthcare obligations, can the UAW's investment returns keep up with the rising cost of healthcare? GM wants to unload much of its roughly $51 billion in unfunded retiree health costs to a trust that would be administered by the union.

The deal that ended the two-day strike against General Motors Corp. on Wednesday won't necessarily put GM back in the driver's seat, but unloading some of its massive healthcare obligations will help GM compete with nonunion Japanese rivals -- while sending the United Auto Workers into new territory.

Los Angeles County officials established a trust fund Tuesday to prepare for a $20-billion healthcare tab expected when thousands of county employees retire over the next 30 years. The trust -- which will set aside money periodically -- is intended to supplement the county's current pay-as-you-go health benefit system. The county is expected to spend $400 million on retiree health benefits this fiscal year.

A federal appeals court on Tuesday removed a judge in Washington from a long-running, contentious legal battle between American Indians and the Interior Department, concluding that the judge was prejudiced against the government. At the same time, the court blasted Interior officials for their "deplorable record" in managing trust money for Indians. In its 3-0 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit noted that it had reversed U.S. District Judge Royce C.

Dunham & Associates Investment Counsel Inc., a San Diego-based investment advisor, agreed to a fine after putting more than $350 million in client money into unregistered investment funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday. The firm will pay $150,000 and hire a consultant to review and correct its procedures, the agency said in a statement. Chief Executive Jeffrey A. Dunham also agreed to a $50,000 fine, the SEC said. Neither Dunham nor the company admitted or denied wrongdoing.