A federal judge in Southern California was chosen Friday to preside over more than 200 lawsuits filed against Toyota in the aftermath of the automaker’s sudden acceleration problems, which could potentially mushroom into one of the nation’s biggest product liability cases.

A judicial panel consolidated the ever-growing list of cases before U.S. District Judge James V. Selna, 65, a 2003 appointee of former President George W. Bush. Selna’s court is in Orange County, close to Toyota’s U.S. headquarters.

“This is a big milestone in what will be a very historic case,” said Tim Howard, a Northeastern University law professor who leads a group of attorneys in 26 states who are suing Toyota.

Attorneys estimate that if Toyota were to settle the cases for even a modest payout to affected motorists, it could cost the company at least $3 billion and possibly much more.

In comparison, drugmaker Merck & Co. has paid more than $4.8 billion into a settlement fund for tens of thousands of claims from people who used its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx.

In a review of lawsuits filed around the country involving a wide range of complaints — not just the sudden acceleration problems that have led to millions of Toyotas being recalled — the automaker has hidden the existence of tests that would be harmful to its legal position and claimed key material was difficult to get at its headquarters in Japan. It has withheld potentially damaging documents and refused to release data stored electronically in its vehicles.

For example, in a Colorado product liability lawsuit filed by a man whose young daughter was killed in a 4Runner rollover crash, Toyota withheld documents about internal roof strength tests despite a federal judge's order that such information be produced, according to court records. The attorneys for Jon Kurylowicz now say such documents might have changed the outcome of the case, which ended in a 2005 jury verdict for Toyota.

Moscow City Court judge Eduard Chuvashov was shot contract-style in the stairwell of his apartment building in central Moscow, Russia's top investigative body said.

The murderer used a silencer and left no shells, but investigators obtained footage from surveillance cameras showing a tall Slavic man, about 30-years-old, coming out of Chuvashov's apartment building shortly after the killing, it said.

One of Baltimore's largest law firms, Ober Kaler, will move its headquarters by next April from the Sun Trust Bank building downtown to the 100 Light Street office tower a few blocks away.

Lexington Realty Trust, which owns the 35-story office tower, announced Thursday that Ober Kaler has signed a lease for 94,213 square feet over six floors of the tower, formerly known as the Legg Mason building.

The lease is the largest announced since Legg Mason moved last year to a new building in Harbor East, vacating 330,000 square feet on Light Street. To attract new tenants, Lexington Trust is investing more than $43 million to upgrade the building and open a parking garage across Lombard Street.

As of July 1, the 100 Light Street building is expected to be approximately 44 percent leased, according to Lexington Trust.

Ober Kaler Chairman John Wolf said the law firm considered sites in Hunt Valley, Owings Mills, Towson, Harbor East and elsewhere in Baltimore's central business district, including its present location, before leasing space at 100 Light Street.

The Fighting Sioux nickname is gone for good at the University of North Dakota.

On Thursday, decisions by North Dakota's Supreme Court and Board of Higher Education led to the retirement of the long-disputed nickname.

The court ruled that the board had the authority to dump the nickname at any time. The court rejected an appeal that sought to delay action.

The board had voted last May to retire the nickname. A motion Thursday to reconsider that vote died.

Board president Richie Smith says he thinks no further action is required to end the nickname.

The court agreed to hear an expedited appeal after university officials pleaded with the board to decide the issue quickly so the school could pursue admission to the Summit League.

BeBevCo announced today they have hired a new legal team: McMullen Associates LLC from Charlotte, North Carolina. McMullen Associates LLC is a Securities and Corporate Law Firm that specializes in Securities Regulation, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate Finance, Business Law, Private Placement Memorandums, Exchange Listings, Franchising, as well as all general securities law practice and corporate law matters. "After a five-hour meeting that included four of our staff and five of theirs, it was by far the most educational as well as convincing that McMullen Associates team of experts will get the job by helping us develop short and long term strategies to move BeBevCo along a path to the Bulletin boards and then on to the AMEX," said CEO Brian Weber.

About BeBevCo - BeBevCo (Bebida Beverages Company) develops, manufactures and markets several beverages including Koma Unwind "Chillaxation Drink ™," Koma Unwind Sugar-free "Chillaxation Drink ™" and Koma Unwind "Chillaxation Shot™" as well as Potencia Energy Drink and Potencia BLAST energy shot, Piranha Water.