BUSINESS BRIEFS
Trump sued by buyers in failed Mexico project
Advertiser News Services
| |||
 |
|
||
SAN DIEGO — Donald Trump is being sued by buyers who lost millions of dollars in deposits on a failed hotel-condo on Mexico's Baja California shores.
Attorney Bart Ring said yesterday that the 69 buyers he represents purchased 71 units in Trump Ocean Resort Baja, in Tijuana. They paid deposits totaling between $18 million and $20 million.
Buyers were told last month that the project was being scrapped and that their deposits would not be returned.
The complaint filed in Los Angeles seeks unspecified damages against Trump, his children Ivanka and Donald Jr., developer Irongate Capital Partners LLC, and others. The lawsuit accuses Trump of fraud, negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.
The Baja development was one of several Trump residential projects currently under construction, including the Trump International Hotel & Tower Waikiki.
MERRILL LYNCH RULING PENDING
NEW YORK — A judge said yesterday he will decide within a week whether Bank of America Corp. has to turn over a list of performance bonuses given to the 200 highest-paid employees of Merrill Lynch & Co.State Supreme Court Justice Bernard Fried didn't indicate how he will rule, but during the court hearing he questioned Bank of America's contention that salary information is a trade secret, and suggested he is unlikely to order confidentiality merely to save Merrill Lynch workers from a public shaming. He said he planned to issue a decision by next Friday.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has subpoenaed the list of names and bonuses as part of his investigation into the circumstances surrounding the brokerage firm's acquisition by Bank of America last winter.
Lawyers for Bank of America said they fear that Cuomo will make those pay details public, possibly embarrassing workers and disclosing what they say is sensitive company information.
AT&T MAY GET UNION BREAKS
NEW YORK — AT&T Inc., the largest employer of union labor in the country, is renegotiating contracts that cover 112,500 workers and looks set to take advantage of the recession to reduce its healthcare costs.Five regional union contracts expire April 4. A sixth that expires a few months later is being negotiated at the same time.
The last time this batch of contracts was up for negotiation, five years ago, there was a four-day strike that was seen as a minor victory for the Communications Workers of America. But this time, the economic meltdown has shifted the balance of power decidedly toward the employer.
SWISS BANKS NO LONGER A HAVEN
GENEVA — Switzerland's days as a safe haven for the world's tax evaders are numbered.Under pressure from the U.S. and other troubled economies, the Swiss government announced yesterday that it will cooperate in international tax investigations, breaking with a long tradition of protecting wealthy foreigners accused of hiding billions of dollars.
Austria and Luxembourg also said they will help in investigations.
"Against the background of the financial crisis, international cooperation has grown stronger, particularly against tax crimes," Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz said.
But he insisted that the secrecy of Swiss banks will remain intact except when other countries provide compelling evidence of tax evasion.
