Names and faces

— A New York court on Tuesday dismissed Dan Rather's breach of contract lawsuit against CBS Corp., noting that the network continued to pay the news anchor $6 million a year even after he left the evening news broadcast in 2005. Rather sued CBS and its top executives in 2007, contending that he had been removed from his CBS Evening News news anchor post over a report that examined President George W. Bush's military service. The Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court - New York's trial-level court - said the complaint "must be dismissed in its entirety." The court said there was no breach of contract because CBS still paid Rather his salary after the disputed 2004 broadcast under the "pay or play" provision of his contract. CBS said in a statement that it was pleased with Tuesday's ruling. Rather's lawyer, Martin Gold, said he was "extremely disappointed" in the decision and would appeal it to the Court of Appeals,New York's highest court. The dispute began with a piece Rather narrated for the now-defunct 60 Minutes II. Rather cited new documents that CBS had obtained, but the authenticity of the documents later came under attack. After leaving the evening news, Rather kept reporting for 60 Minutes but was dumped by CBS in June 2006 after 44 years with the network.

A chipped and incomplete chess set believed to have been featured in one of Ingmar Bergman's best known films fetched one of the highest bids at a special auction for the late director's belongings, auction house officials said Tuesday. The set, which had been valued at from $1,430-$2,150, sold for $142,000, said Charlotte Bergstrom, a spokesman at Bukowskis in Stockholm, Sweden. It is missing a white king and is believed to have been used in The Seventh Seal. The auction began Monday and lasted more than nine hours, ending in the early hours of Tuesday and garnering a total of $2.6 million. The proceeds will go to Bergman's family, Bergstrom said. Bergman died July 30 at age 89 in his home on the Baltic Sea islet of Faro.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 09/30/2009

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