A request by attorneys representing Wynn Las Vegas for nearly $75,000 in attorney's fees and court costs accrued defending the property's new tip pooling policy has been denied.
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District Judge Douglas Herndon ruled Thursday that both sides made "legally competent and intelligent arguments" and did not find that the "plaintiff's claims were brought without reasonable grounds or to harass."
"It was obviously a hotly contested case," said Mark Thierman of Reno, who represented the dealers.
Attorneys from the Kamer Zucker & Abbott filed a motion requesting the fees on Jan. 5 four weeks after Herndon had dismissed a class-action lawsuit brought by resort dealers Daniel Baldonado and Joseph Cesarz arguing that the tip-pooling policy was illegal.
"We felt we were entitled to the fees," said Bryan Cohen, a senior associate at Kamer Zucker & Abbott, adding that the firm does not plan to appeal the ruling.
RICHMOND, Va.
Circuit City to close shops, distribution site
Circuit City Stores, the nation's No. 2 consumer electronics retailer, said Thursday it plans to close seven domestic superstores, a Kentucky distribution center and 62 company-owned stores in Canada to cut costs and improve its financial performance.
The closings will take place over the next six months at an expected total cost of $85 million to $105 million, all to be incurred in the current fourth fiscal quarter, which ends Feb. 28, Circuit City said.
Circuit City would not identify the stores to be closed because company officials were notifying employees. The stores will be closed Monday, then reopen Wednesday for clearance sales, spokesman Bill Cimino said.
MILWAUKEE
Harley-Davidson strike proving to be costly
Analysts estimate a strike at Harley-Davidson's main assembly plant is costing the motorcycle maker up to $11 million a day in sales, but predict it will be short-lived and have little effect on the company's performance this year.
The Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker said Thursday that a nearly weeklong strike in York, Pa., will cause it to miss shipment guidance for the first quarter.
Harley had expected to ship between 82,000 and 84,000 bikes during the first three months of the year. But a strike by 2,800 union workers at the plant, where top-selling, heavyweight Touring and Softail bikes are made, means it will come up short.
Toyota unveils new versions of Scion
Toyota Motor Corp. unveiled two new versions of its popular Scion on Thursday, as it continues to target the young, urban and hip.
The redesigned Scion xB will hit dealerships in April. A foot longer and 3 inches wider than its predecessor, the boxy xB has larger wheels, more horsepower and a bigger wheelbase than the version that first debuted in early 2003.
The five-door subcompact has a 128-horsepower, four-cylinder engine and will be available in August.
Companies get OK to pay options taxes
Ordinary employees who received improperly backdated stock options from their companies and owe additional taxes can have their companies cover the bill, the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday.
The suspect timing of stock option grants as scandalized corporate America and led the IRS to examine awards to some executives for possible tax-law violations.
Some executives may have manipulated the exercise dates of their stock options to cheat on their taxes, but the agency said ordinary employees unwittingly could have gotten improperly dated options and owe taxes.
The IRS said those workers should not be unduly punished and, unlike executives and insiders, their companies should be allowed to pay their resulting taxes.
Business news network planned
News Corp., which turned Fox News into the most-watched cable news channel in less than a decade, said it will start a business news network by the end of this year.
Fox News Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Roger Ailes, will develop and oversee Fox Business Channel, New York-based News Corp. said in a statement.
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch will challenge CNBC and Bloomberg Television with the business channel, first announced in 2004. Class A shares of News Corp., the third-largest media company after Time Warner and Walt Disney Co., gained 60 cents, or 2.59 percent, to $23.94 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have gained 51 percent in the past year.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.
YouTube founders get cache of Google shares
The investors and founders of YouTube received hundreds of millions of dollars in Google shares as a result of the deal between the two companies late last year, according to new documents.
The big payout was revealed Wednesday in a regulatory filing Google made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The paperwork offered a more detailed account than previously disclosed of the sale's beneficiaries.
In total, online search leader Google registered about 3.23 million Class A shares to issue to former YouTube stockholders, the filing shows.
Regulators approve purchase of plants
The Public Utilities Commission has approved Nevada Power Co.'s request to buy a total of 73 megawatts of power from three geothermal plants in Northern Nevada.
The commission approved contracts Wednesday with Nevada Geothermal Power for the 25-megawattt Faulkner 1 Power Plant. Also authorized were contracts with Ormat Nevada for a 24-megawatt Buffalo Way project and the 24-megawatt Carson Lake Project.
The three plants are scheduled to start operation in 2010. No other terms were disclosed.
NEW YORK
Longer securities lead surge for bond prices
A solid long-bond auction put a spring in the step of Treasury investors Thursday, and helped push through modest price gains in longer maturities.
At 5 p.m. EST, the 10-year Treasury note was up 0.09 points, or 94 cents per $1,000 in face value, from its level at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, fell to 4.73 percent from 4.74 percent.
The 30-year bond rose 0.16 points. Its yield fell to 4.84 percent from 4.85 percent.
