Lawsuit Settlement | featured news

Merck & Co will pay roughly $950 million to settle criminal and civil charges that it promoted the painkiller drug Vioxx for an unapproved use, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission are nearing a settlement over deceptive practices related to several Facebook features, including its privacy settings, according to two people briefed on the settlement.

The settlement is the largest yet in a wave of cases brought against pharmaceutical companies for illegal marketing of drugs.

The studio that fired former "Two and a Half Men" star Charlie Sheen said Monday it has struck a deal with the actor to end their legal dispute... The Los Angeles Times reported Sheen's settlement would be $25 million, although celebrity website TMZ reported the deal would be worth roughly $100 million over the next several years. Both outlets cited unnamed sources in reports about the settlement amounts.

JPMorgan Chase & Co, the second largest U.S. bank by assets, led a broader decline in bank share prices, as investors feared lenders face a growing list of lawsuits due to problem mortgages.

Big U.S. banks in talks with state prosecutors to settle claims of improper mortgage practices have been offered a deal that may limit their legal liabilities in return for a multibillion-dollar payment, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Mel Gibson and his ex-girlfriend have reached a financial and custody settlement of a bitter dispute that spawned a criminal case and left the Academy Award winner's reputation damaged.

Countrywide Home Loans agreed to pay borrowers $108 million for charging excessive fees when they fell behind on their mortgages.

Washington Mutual agreed to settle a large shareholder class-action lawsuit for $208.5 million that alleged it failed to stop investments when the now-failed bank knew, or should have known, how much trouble it was in.

Bank of America Corp is close to a deal to pay $8.5 billion to settle claims from investors that lost money on mortgage-backed securities, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.