A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge Thursday approved the reorganization plan of the holding company of Denver’s MediaNews Group Inc., publisher of The Denver Post, the company said.

Confirmation of the “pre-packaged” plan by Judge Kevin Carey of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware will allow Affiliated Media Inc., parent of MediaNews, to emerge from Chapter 11 protection.

“We knew we had a good plan going in, and it had been approved by the lenders before it was filed,” William Dean Singleton, chairman and CEO of MediaNews Group, said in a statement. “We are pleased that it won confirmation, and that our company is now well-positioned for the changing days ahead.”

Affiliated filed under Chapter 11 on Jan. 22 and submitted a plan already approved by major creditors, allowing it to greatly reduce its debt from $930 million to $165 million in debt in exchange for equity in the company, while leaving Singleton and President Joseph “Jody” Lodovic in control of the Affiliated/MediaNews management.

The state appeals court has upheld the involuntary manslaughter conviction of a woman in the June 2003 death of a baby in a Reading day care facility.

Ann Power had challenged her conviction in the death of 3-month-old MacKenzie Corrigan of Stoneham, who died of shaken baby syndrome after being injured in the day care facility Power ran in her home.

Power was convicted in 2006 of involuntary manslaughter by reasonof wanton or reckless conduct and received a three-to-five-year sentence. She also pleaded guilty to operating a family day care home without a license.

The Massachusetts Appeals Court rejected her appeal in a 16-page opinion written by Judge Mitchell J. Sikora.

A Luxembourg court ruled on Thursday that investors who lost money to Bernard L. Madoff through a fund set up by UBS cannot seek compensation directly from the Swiss bank, Reuters reported.

In November, private and institutional investors who lost money through the LuxAlpha fund, set up as a vehicle for wealthy investors to invest in Madoff funds, sued UBS and Ernst & Young for “seriously neglecting” their supervisory duties of the fund.
But the court rejected the demands of the investors, who wanted to file individual claims against the bank, rather than having to go through the fund’s liquidators, Reuters said.

Franc Greff, who represents clients in four of the 10 cases being reviewed, told the news service he would appeal the decision.

Apple on Tuesday asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to block the importation into the country of HTC's Google Android-based mobile phones, including the Google-branded Nexus One.

Apple asked the court for "a permanent exclusion order" that would bar from entry "all mobile communications devices and components" made by HTC that carry the offending technologies, according to court documents.

Apple on Tuesday sued HTC for alleged, multiple patent violations, claiming the Taiwan-based manufacturer's products infringe on its iPhone technology. Apple filed the actions with the ITC and the U.S. District Court for Delaware.

In the ITC filing, Apple says 11 HTC phones violate its patents, including the Nexus One, Touch Pro, Touch Diamond, Pure, Imagio, and myTouch 3G. Apple claims HTC infringed on a total of 20 patents governing a range of technologies.

Apple wants the ITC to block HTC and its partners from "importing, marketing, advertising, demonstrating, warehousing inventory for distribution, distributing, offering for sale" any of the listed phones.

Apple is also seeking unspecified monetary damages in the Delaware court.

A Michigan judge has ordered a stay-at-home mom to attend a murder trial and serve 24 hours in jail because she arrived late for jury selection.

Carmela Khury was released Monday after a day and a half as a spectator in Oakland County Circuit court.

The State Court Administrative Office told Judge Leo Bowman he had no authority to punish Khury and to drop the order or face sanctions.

Khury appeared in court an hour late with her 8-month-old and 3-year-old children last Thursday, saying she could not find a baby sitter.

Bowman dismissed her from the jury pool and ordered her to return Friday to watch the trial. He said she would have to spend 24 hours in jail after the case.

Bowman declined to comment through his staff in suburban Detroit.

Indianapolis-based Dann Pecar Newman & Kleiman P.C. has merged with a law firm in Cleveland. The deal brings Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP into the Indianapolis market after establishing offices in Columbus, Ohio, New York state, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Shanghai. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports the combined firm will be know as Benesch/Dann Pecar in Indianapolis.

Dann Pecar Newman & Kleiman P.C. was founded in 1911 and the Indianapolis office has 26 attorneys.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the United Nations is absolutely immune from such a lawsuit, and its former employees also have immunity.

The ruling upheld a lower court judge's decision to toss out a lawsuit brought by U.S. citizen Cynthia Brzak. She had alleged that ex-refugee chief Ruud Lubbers grabbed her in a sexual manner after a December 2003 business meeting in his Geneva office.

Lubbers resigned from the position in February 2005 because of the attention caused by the scandal. He's also the former prime minister of the Netherlands.