Suit accuses Amazon of violating patents
Amazon.com Inc. on Friday said it was named in a lawsuit, along with retailer Target Corp., filed by Registrar Systems LLC alleging patent infringement.
In its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Seattle-based Internet retailer said the complaint alleges that Amazon’s website technology infringes on two patents obtained by Registrar Systems.
Amazon.com said the suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
The complaint also covers the method that Amazon.com uses to enable customers to use Amazon account information on websites that the company operates for third parties, such as Target.com, the filing said.
The company said it disputes the allegations of wrongdoing and intends to vigorously defend itself.
Ex-Qwest exec says fraud lawsuit vague
A former Qwest finance chief asked a judge Friday to order regulators to provide more details about a fraud lawsuit, contending it is impossible to determine specific allegations against her or other defendants.
Robin Szeliga’s attorneys wrote in a brief filed in U.S. District Court that the Securities and Exchange Commission relied on a “smorgasbord” approach that lacked specifics when it filed the complaint nearly a year ago.
“The SEC has lumped numerous defendants and a variety of allegedly wrongful conduct into one complaint in a way that makes it impossible to understand what is being alleged against whom,” attorneys Patrick Kanouff and Terry Bird wrote. “The law requires more, and this court should order the SEC to provide it.”
Szeliga, former chief executive officer Joseph Nacchio, former chief financial officer Robert Woodruff and four other one-time executives were accused in March of orchestrating a massive financial fraud that forced Qwest to restate billions of dollars in revenue.
Denver subsidiary sells Fla. apartments
Morton Towers Apartments, a subsidiary of Denver-based real estate investment trust Apartment Investment and Management Co., sold 562 apartment units in Miami Beach for $163.5 million, according to a securities filing Friday.
The buyer, Chicago-based MCZ/Centrum Developers, will purchase one of three towers owned by the company in Flamingo South Beach, a 1,688-unit rental property along Biscayne Bay.
MCZ/Centrum Developers, which converts apartments into condominiums, secured the rights to purchase the other two towers for a combined $436.5 million, the filing showed.
The Denver company had put the Miami Beach apartments up for sale last summer.
Janus shares swap ruled tax-exempt
Janus Capital Group Inc. said federal officials ruled a $1.2 billion share exchange was exempt from capital-gains taxes, a decision that may increase the money manager’s ability to buy back shares or make acquisitions.
The Internal Revenue Service informed Janus of its ruling in a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Denver-based Janus manages about $148 billion.
Janus swapped 32.3 million shares of DST Systems Inc. in December 2003 to reduce its noninvestment management holdings. Stockholders including Boston-based hedge fund Highfields Capital Management LP had urged Janus to divest the stock in a way that avoided capital-gains taxes.
“It does give them more flexibility,” said Michael Carrier, an analyst with UBS AG in New York. “I don’t think it changes their strategy.”
90 to lose jobs when Cenveo closes plant
Centennial – Cenveo will shut down its printing plant, laying off 90 workers, according to a filing the company made with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
The company told the state it plans to close the plant by April 15, but employees report the layoffs took place last week.
Financier Robert Burton, who gained control of the company after a bitter takeover battle, moved the headquarters to Stamford, Conn., and has shut down most of the company’s Colorado operations.
Qwest CEO gets millions in stock
Qwest said Friday that it has granted 2.33 million stock options and 1.46 million restricted shares to chairman and chief executive Richard C. Notebaert.
The Denver company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that both grants will vest only if Qwest maintains an average share price of $7.50 to $8 for specific periods over the next four years.
Qwest shares closed at $6.28 Friday, up 13 cents from Thursday’s close.
