In Monday's corporations and securities law news, securities regulator National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) has announced that it has brought charges against H&R Block Inc. for fraudulently promoting Enron Corp. bonds to customers just weeks before the energy giant declared bankruptcy in 2001. The company received profits of over $500,000 by allegedly paying its [...]

The European Union filed a complaint Monday with the World Trade Organization against the US and Canada for failing to lift sanctions against the EU over the EU's ban on importing hormone-treated beef. In 1998, the WTO ruled that the EU's beef ban was illegal, and the US and Canada responded with $125 million in [...]

Chief Justice William Rehnquist remained at home Monday while the Supreme Court heard arguments in two cases. Rehnquist continues to work from home while he receives radiation and chemotherapy for thyroid cancer. Justice John Paul Stevens commented from the bench at this morning's court session that Rehnquist "is unable to be present but will participate [...]

Twelve female prisoners jailed in Nepal for having abortions prior to 2002 have been granted amnesty, Nepalese King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev said Monday through a Department of Prisons press release. Abortions were illegal in Nepal until 2002 and were punishable by up to three years in prison. Women's rights groups had been fighting [...]

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer Monday announced the resolution of three cases that involved posting false bids to drive up the price of auctions on internet marketplace EBay. Over 120 people will receive restitution payments for their purchases of artwork, sports memorabilia, and cars in on-line auctions; together with fines, the sellers will pay [...]

Novell Inc. announced Monday that it has agreed to a settlement with Microsoft Corp. over antitrust issues. The dispute involved Novell's NetWare, an operating system with which Novell had hoped to compete with Microsoft's Windows. The two companies agreed that Microsoft will pay Novell $536 million in cash. Novell has plans for an additional antitrust [...]

Lawyers for Osama bin Laden's driver are seeking a delay today in his scheduled pretrial hearing before a US military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who drove the al-Qaida leader, is charged with conspiracy. His military-appointed attorney, Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Swift, has filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the military commissions set [...]

US District Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District of NY has approved a $2.6 billion settlement between Citigroup and WorldCom (now MCI) investors, one of the biggest class-action lawsuits resulting from a series of corporate scandals. The class-action lawsuit accused Citigroup and other investment banks that underwrote WorldCom bonds of failing to conduct due [...]

Officials from Georgia's Cobb County School District head to federal court today to defend against a lawsuit filed by parents and the ACLU of Georgia accusing the school district of promoting religion by stating in students' science books that evolution is "a theory, not a fact." The lawsuit argues that the disclaimer restricts the teaching [...]

Three House Democrats have called for an official investigation into voting machine irregularities during the 2004 election. Congressmen Robert Wexler of Florida, Jerrold Nadler of New York, and John Conyers of Michigan sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Friday outlining several incidents that they learned about in the days following the election. [...]