Michael Liedtke

May 03, 2006 | Law.com

A judge has approved a class action settlement requiring Netflix to offer a free month of DVDs to 5.5 million current and former subscribers, resolving a case that prompted the online rental service to acknowledge it sometimes delays shipments to its less-profitable customers. The settlement, approved Friday, had been delayed since March when San Francisco Superior Court Judge Thomas Mellon Jr. balked at a proposal that would have guaranteed payments totaling $2.5 million to a handful of lawyers.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

September 26, 2003 | Law.com

During a daylong court hearing Wednesday, Wal-Mart argued for dismantling a sexual discrimination suit that seeks to represent 1.6 million current and former women workers against the retailing giant. Federal Judge Martin Jenkins listened to more than six hours of often obtuse arguments in a packed San Francisco courtroom. The attendance and length of the hearing reflected the high stakes in a case that has produced 1.25 million pages of evidence and 200 sworn depositions.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

November 08, 2007 | Law.com

Visa Inc. will pay American Express Co. up to $2.25 billion to settle a lawsuit alleging Visa illegally stifled competition to protect its position as the largest U.S. credit card network. The truce announced Wednesday rids Visa of a potential albatross before the San Francisco-based company's initial public offering of stock, which is expected to occur early next year. The case threatened to raise embarrassing questions about Visa's past business practices with a September trial date looming.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

July 25, 2011 | Legaltech News

Google's quarterly lobbying expenses surpassed $2 million for the first time as the U.S. government conducts a wide-ranging investigation into the internet search leader's business practices. The company spent $2.06 million trying to make its points with lawmakers and regulators during the April-June period, a 54 percent increase from $1.34 million a year earlier.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

September 13, 2010 | Law.com

The 9th Circuit has sided with the computer software industry in its effort to squelch sales of second-hand programs covered by widely used licensing agreements. A three-judge panel concluded the first-sale doctrine didn't apply to used software programs that online merchant Timothy Vernor peddled in his store on eBay. Vernor had bought the unopened software, made by Autodesk, at garage and office sales, without ever agreeing to the licensing agreement imposed on the original buyer.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

October 19, 2006 | Corporate Counsel

The chairman of KLA-Tencor Corp. retired Tuesday with a less valuable stock-option package, becoming the latest insider swept up in the computer chip supplier's efforts to clean up an accounting mess expected to cost up to $400 million. Kenneth Levy decided to step down from the board late Monday after KLA acknowledged it improperly booked employee stock options for several years. KLA also accepted the resignation of its GC, Stuart Nichols, and severed its ties with former CEO Kenneth Schroeder.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

July 26, 2004 | Law.com

Online search engine giant Google Inc. casts itself as an enlightened employer that pampers its employees with free meals to supplement plentiful helpings of stock options. But a suit filed by a recently fired, 54-year-old Google manager offers a less flattering picture, contending the company has cultivated a culture that discriminates against older workers and fostered serious morale problems.

By Michael Liedtke

4 minute read

November 23, 2005 | Corporate Counsel

A California judge on Tuesday approved an unusual settlement that will cause Oracle CEO Larry Ellison to donate $100 million to charity and pay another $22 million to attorneys who sued him for alleged stock trading abuses -- forcing Ellison to dig deeper into his pockets than he had intended. Ellison's attorney said the executive originally didn't want to pay the suing lawyers' fees, but according to the revised settlement, the about-face shows Ellison's desire to avoid a risky, distracting trial.

By Michael Liedtke

4 minute read

May 17, 2006 | Legaltech News

Software makers Symantec and McAfee launched a crackdown on illegal Internet sales of their products Tuesday by suing suspected pirates who have set up shop on the online auction site eBay. "If online marketplaces are going to pursue the free-market ideals that they aspire to, they must make sure the products they sell are authentic," said Joe Fitzgerald of Symantec. The industry estimates it loses $11 billion to $12 billion a year from the distribution of pirated software.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

March 02, 2007 | Legaltech News

Business software maker Oracle Corp. will buy Hyperion Solutions Corp. for $3.3 billion in cash, renewing a shopping spree aimed at toppling rival SAP AG. Hyperion's business intelligence software helps CFOs and other top corporate executives track performance.

By Michael Liedtke

5 minute read