LITTLE ROCK — Wal-Mart bias case stays, judge decides
A federal judge in the northern district of California has denied a motion to dismiss a decade-long case alleging that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. discriminated against women in its hiring and promotion practices.
The case is one of several pending that were filed after the U.S. Supreme Court denied, in a June 30, 2011, ruling, class action status for a lawsuit seeking to represent up to 1.5 million plaintiffs. The court ruled in that case that the plaintiffs failed to establish that they had enough in common to proceed with a class-action lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said in denying the motion to dismiss that plaintiffs could be certified as a class if they show their smaller scale case is consistent with the high court’s ruling.
- Steve Painter
Fort Smith firm buys Missouri Taco Bells
Fort Smith-based KMac Holdings Corp., one of the largest franchise restaurant businesses in the United States, said Monday it purchased 25 Taco Bell locations in Missouri.
K-Mac is one of the biggest Taco Bell franchisees in the nation and it also runs Golden Corral and KFC restaurants. It operates 237 restaurants across the brands. It has holdings in Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
The terms of the deal were not released.
Rafe Montgomery has controlling interest in the seller, No Limits LLC.
K-Mac is owned by Brentwood Associates, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm which first invested in the company in March 2011. The company has more than $650 million of capital under management, according to the release.
- John Magsam
State Index up 0.31 despite down Dow
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, gained 0.31 to 244.17 on Monday.
“The Dow Jones industrial average and other major averages declined slightly as concerns surrounding Europe resulted in the fifth consecutive week, and the 15th of 17 weeks, that the Dow has started the week with a loss,” said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Delta Trust Investments Inc. in Little Rock.
Arkansas Best accelerated upward, gaining 6.3 percent on above-average volume, while First Federal Bancshares dropped by more than 8 percent in light trading.
Index volume was 32.5 million shares; the average is 23 million.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 21 on 09/25/2012