In The News Today – December 11, 2014

During a hearing on Thursday addressing a motion to reopen the Garlock Sealing Technologies estimation record, Judge George Hodges concluded that none of the arguments raised by a committee representing asbestos personal injury claimants would change the overall outcome of the case or his ultimate decision. Hodges has estimated Garlock’s liability earlier this year to be $125 million – roughly $1 billion less than plaintiffs lawyers wanted. (Legal Newsline)

In a development the Wall Street Journal referred to as a “blow to the Justice Department’s Wall Street crackdown,” the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned two insider-trading convictions and ruled “it isn’t always illegal to buy or sell stocks using inside information.” (Wall Street Journal)