Legal News

The AM Roundup: Craigslist?s Not So Casual Encounter, More . . .

By Ashby Jones

We’ve barely rubbed the sleep from our eyes and still we’re all too aware of most of our colleagues’ feelings about last night’s big American Idol finale. One colleague on Adam: “He’s the next Freddie Mercury.” Another on Kris: “He sounds like he’s singing a car commercial.” We’ll just say this: Kris, if you’re up and reading the Law Blog, a hearty congrats. Adam: it’s a mad world.

The morning roundup:

Craigslist Sues S.C.: Craigslist went on the offensive and sued the attorney general of South Carolina, who had threatened to prosecute the classifieds site’s executives over adult-oriented ads. The suit seeks a restraining order to prevent the attorney general from filing criminal charges against the really handsome CEO, Jim Buckmaster (pictured), and other Craigslist management. WSJ; SF Chron.

Scrushy Denies Knowledge of HealthSouth Fraud: Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy, who was acquitted of criminal charges related to the HealthSouth accounting scandal in 2005, took the witness stand Wednesday in the trial of a civil action against him by HealthSouth shareholders. He said he had “no knowledge” of the $2.6 billion fraud that nearly destroyed the rehabilitation company he founded, in his first public testimony on the matter. WSJ.

Lehman Role Probed in Selling Securities: The old ARS party continues, it seems. The Justice Department has questioned several former executives at Lehman Brothers as part of its criminal investigation into whether they sold auction-rate securities — supposedly safe, liquid instruments — to clients while knowing that the market for the securities was drying up. WSJ.

Trouble at the U.N.: Does the U.N. have a sexual-harassment problem? You bet, says the WSJ’s Steve Stecklow. The organization is struggling to deal with an embarrassing string of sexual-harassment complaints within its own ranks.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on May 21, 2009 (boomark / email).