Insurance
Top court denies Liberty Mutual appeal over bar fight
The Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday denied Liberty Mutual Insurance’s request to dismiss a lawsuit against the insurer stemming from a Newbury Street bar fight in 2008. Robert Chiulli, who was in a three-month coma after he fractured his skull during a fight at Sonsie restaurant, had sued Liberty Mutual because the insurance company offered to pay him $150,000 for his medical expenses and lost earnings, when the amount of damages was over $1 million, according to court documents. Liberty Mutual was the insurance company for Sonsie and knew that the restaurant’s staff had ignored procedures to prevent the fight, according to the court documents. Chiulli sued the restaurant company, and a federal jury in 2012 awarded him $4.5 million, which he has received. But because Liberty Mutual failed to offer a reasonable settlement initially, his client experienced additional suffering as a result of going through a prolonged trial, said Andrew Abraham, a Boston attorney who represented Chiulli. — Deirdre Fernandes
Finance
Brookline man charged with insider trading
A Brookline man was arrested and charged Thursday with passing inside information about a stock in exchange for a $220,000 kickback. Amit Kanodia, 47, has denied the charges through his attorney. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice allege that Kanodia learned from his wife, a corporate attorney, that the Indian company Apollo Tyres was in talks to buy Cooper Tire and Rubber of Ohio. He allegedly passed that information to his friend Ahmed, who bought stocks and options in Cooper. Cooper’s value jumped 41 percent when the acquisition deal was announced. Although the deal fell through, authorities said Ahmed sold his shares in Cooper and made $1.1 million. Using a company he controlled, Ahmed allegedly sent $220,000 of those gains back to Kanodia through a charity Kanodia controlled, the government said. — Jack Newsham
Health care
Medical device maker settles lawsuit for $4.4 million
MINNEAPOLIS — Medtronic has agreed to pay $4.4 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the federal government accusing the company of selling medical devices made in China and Malaysia to the US military. Federal law requires that devices sold to the military be manufactured in the United States or its international trading partners. Minnesota US Attorney Andrew Luger alleged Medtronic, which recently moved its headquarters from Fridley, bought spinal surgery devices in China and relabeled them to indicate they had been manufactured in Memphis. Medtronic spokeswoman Cindy Resman said in a statement the company ‘‘makes no admission that any of its activities were improper or unlawful.’’ — Associated Press
Brewing
Some maple sap headed from tree tap to beer tap
CHATHAM, N.Y. — The maple sap bubbling away in Ron Davis’s upstate New York sugar house is destined for pancakes, waffles, sweets, and — for years now — beer kegs. The local syrup adds a touch of woodsy sweetness to the maple amber beer made by nearby Chatham Brewing, one of a cadre of craft brewers nationwide bridging the gap between tree tap and bar tap. The amount of syrup destined for pint glasses from this spring’s maple run is a relative trickle, but maple beers offer something for the growing numbers of local food lovers and craft beers aficionados. — Associated Press
Fashion
France bans excessively skinny models
Executives at fashion houses and talent agencies that use excessively thin models in France face six months in prison and a fine of $82,000, as the country fights the spread of anorexia. French lawmakers approved the measure Friday, a day after they voted to outlaw websites that encourage readers to get thin by starving themselves. More than 200,000 people suffer from anorexia in France, according to Association Autrement, a nonprofit organization that seeks to help those afflicted by eating disorders. Anorexic French model Isabelle Caro brought the issue to the fore in 2007 when she posed nude for an advertising campaign to raise awareness about the illness. She died three years later at the age of 28, according to Vogue. — Bloomberg News
Technology
Tesla new vehicle deliveries rise 55 percent
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Tesla’s first-quarter new vehicle deliveries climbed 55 percent from a year earlier to more than 10,000 cars. The electric vehicle maker said Friday that it has decided to report the number of new car deliveries within three days of quarter’s end going forward because ‘‘inaccurate sources of information are sometimes used by others to project the number of vehicle deliveries.’’ Tesla Motors Inc. said that the delivery figure is only one measure of its financial performance and shouldn’t be relied on as an indicator of its quarterly financial results. Last month the company said it would reveal a new product on April 30 but that it’s not a car. — Associated Press
Transportation
West Coast dockworkers urged to OK contract
LOS ANGELES — A tentative contract agreement that restored the flow of international trade through West Coast seaports took a big step closer Friday to becoming official, as representatives of the dockworkers’ union overwhelmingly recommended that rank-and-file members vote to approve the deal. Difficult contract negotiations nearly closed 29 seaports from San Diego to Seattle, causing major delays in the delivery of billions of dollars of imports and exports. Negotiators for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union reached the tentative, five-year deal in February with companies that run the massive ships and sprawling marine terminals which are integral to trans-Pacific trade. This week, a caucus of 90 union delegates met in San Francisco to study the offer in detail. — Associated Press
Technology
TV service DishWorld changes name to Sling International
Dish Network’s Sling TV said Friday that the live streaming, multi-language television service DishWorld will now be called Sling International. The service provides global programming starting at $15 per month from nearly 200 channels in 18 languages to US households. Dish Network Corp. launched its Sling TV subsidiary in February as its attempt to attract the estimated 10 million households who pay only for Internet service and not for cable. The number of people who pay cable companies, satellite TV companies, and telecommunications companies for TV access — the traditional pay-TV system — has been slowly dropping as online video alternatives such as Netflix and Hulu provide shows more cheaply online. — Associated Press
Finance
Worcester tax preparer convicted of filing false returns
WORCESTER — A Worcester tax preparer who is also the pastor of a city church has been convicted of filing false federal tax returns. A federal jury on Thursday convicted 56-year-old Nydia Elicier of several counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. Prosecutors say Elicier in 2008 generated inflated and illegal refunds for clients by claiming deductions typically reserved for educators, false gifts to charity, and overinflated medical expenses among other claims. Elicier and her daughter owned Elicier Tax & Travel Agency. Her daughter pleaded guilty last year. Elicier, who is also the pastor at Iglesia Pentecostal La Senda Antigua, is scheduled to be sentenced July 13. She faces up to three years in prison. — Associated Press