An electric co-op supplying power to customers in 48 central and southern Indiana counties could face a perilous spike in
its financial load following a $120 million claim against it by insurance giant John Hancock Life Insurance Co.
Even for those with
a vested interest in the battle over a proposed landfill near Anderson, it’s hard to get too worked up over the latest twist
before the courts or government agencies. After all, the Mallard Lake Landfill battle is in its 29th year.
Charter Homes owner Jerry Jaquess fancies himself a white knight for King Park, a neighborhood once known mainly for its
rampant crime, boarded-up homes and vacant lots. But as he’s constructed a slew of homes and carriage houses there, the local
builder has stirred up several lawsuits, dozens of liens and persistent questions about whether his business is legit.
WellPoint Inc. prides itself on working to hold down the rising cost of health care. But to hear one of its former vice
presidents tell it, the company retaliated against him when he worked to do just that. In a lawsuit against
WellPoint, Dr. Randy Axelrod claims his former employer forced him out when he tried to curtail a drugmaker’s
controversial pricing strategy that was costing WellPoint money.
Two giants of local business are preparing to slug it out in court over a soured sublease deal. Marsh Supermarkets filed
suit in Hamilton County this month to enforce a deal with Swiss pharmaceutical and medical-equipment powerhouse
Roche to sublease the grocer’s entire 148,000-square-foot headquarters in Fishers. The deal, worth more
than $47 million over 18 years, is one of the largest of its kind in central Indiana in years.
On June 15, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than 4,800 businesses around the state, filed a federal
lawsuit against the upstart Indiana Christian Chamber of Commerce. The complaint alleges trademark infringement, unfair competition,
counterfeiting and forgery.
Nine former Noble Roman’s franchisees and a current operator have filed a lawsuit charging that the Indianapolis chain lied
to them about the costs and risks of opening one of its pizza and sub restaurants. The franchisees say the 1,000-restaurant
chain aggressively marketed its stand-alone, dual-brand Noble Roman’s and Tuscano’s Italian Style Subs restaurants without
testing the concept–a scheme they contend was designed to inflate the company’s stock price so owners could unload shares
at a profit.
A federal court this month gave a thumbs-down to a lawsuit filed by Angie’s List claiming that AT&T Yellow Pages violated
trademark laws by publishing ads containing the Angie’s List logo of a servicewoman giving a “thumbs-up.” But on June 25–two
weeks after the court dismissed the suit saying its legal arguments were “meager” and “insubstantial”–the publisher of online
and print business directories filed an amended case against AT&T in U.S. District Court.
Conseco Inc. has won another round in court against former Merchants National Bank CEO James D. Massey this month, ringing
up a $29 million judgment against him in a court in Illinois. But Massey shows no sign of throwing in the towel in the years-long
litigation over millions he borrowed to buy Conseco stock. Massey was a director of Conseco from 1994 to 2000.
ATA Airlines Inc. largely blames FedEx Corp. for knocking it out of business this spring. Now, the bankrupt airline is preparing
to fight back by suing the Memphis cargo giant, charging it wrongfully canceled a military-charter contract that generated
hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for ATA.
Angela Braly, Wayne DeVeydt and the rest of the top brass at WellPoint Inc. face wrath over the company’s recent stock swoon
from a new group: ex-employees. Four former WellPoint workers have filed lawsuits against the Indianapolis-based health insurance
giant over the losses its 401(k) retirement plan suffered in March when the company slashed its profit forecast for the year.
The Malibus and Impalas disappeared from Payton Wells Chevrolet more than 18 months ago, but the controversy over the defunct
dealership at 1510 N. Meridian St. is far from being in the rearview mirror for some of the city’s top businesspeople and
developers. A court battle over the dealership’s properties could determine when and how the roughly six acres of prime land
are redeveloped.
Premier Properties USA Inc. has eliminated about half its headquarters staff–more than 40 employees–as banks seize several
of its properties and CEO Christopher P. White faces a barrage of new lawsuits alleging unpaid bills, defaulted loans, illegally
redirected rent payments and check fraud.
An Indianapolis law firm has filed a class-action suit seeking more than $20 million from a pair of financial-services firms
it says facilitated the transactions that allowed a New Jersey couple to plunder cemetery trust funds. Cohen & Malad LLP filed
the lawsuit late last month on behalf of thousands of customers of Indianapolis-based Memory Gardens Management Corp., which
owns Memory Gardens in Greenwood, Lincoln Memory Gardens in Boone County and other cemeteries. The defendants are the company,
New York-based…
A family that once owned Forest Lawn Memory Gardens and Funeral Home in Greenwood has asked
a Johnson County court to put the business into receivership amid questions about the status of trust funds set aside to pay
funeral expenses and maintenance.
Radio One Indiana’s former controller has filed a civil lawsuit against the company charging she was terminated because of
her race after she raised concerns about fraud and payola in relation to the company’s financial statements.
Alan G. Symons’ company, Fast Tek Group LLC, lost a court fight with Fishers-based competitor Product Action International
LLC in February. So Symons pushed Fast Tek into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June–a move that clears the way for a
suitor to buy the assets without being saddled with the liabilities.
By now, David Marsh might be regretting he ever decided to take on former employer Marsh Supermarkets Inc. in court. Since
he filed his lawsuit last fall charging the company his grandfather founded had shortchanged him on severance, the company
has stormed back with a blizzard of allegations.
Indianapolis-based Norwood Promotional Products is facing legal challenges from a half-dozen former executives who say board
members and investors conspired to fire them, withhold severance pay and cheat them out of as much as $3.6 million in company
stock.
Rival board members are at war over the future of the American Basketball Association just as the Indianapolis-based professional
league appeared to be on the cusp of breakthrough growth.
