Champion Seeks Whistle-Blower Suit Order Over Ex-Worker’s Crimes
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Champion Laboratories Inc. and other oil-filter makers asked a judge to require more than 50 class-action lawsuits to be refiled to remove any reference to a former employee who pleaded guilty to fabricating a document that triggered a U.S. antitrust probe.
Champion, Honeywell International Inc. and other companies made the request Nov. 1 in federal court in Chicago, after the Oct. 26 sentencing of William G. Burch to two years in prison. Burch, 53, pleaded guilty on June 29 in Philadelphia, admitting he concocted evidence in a 2008 whistle-blower lawsuit claiming Champion and its competitors fixed prices on automobile aftermarket filters.