Charter Communications is suing a Los Angeles-based law firm, claiming its malpractice cost the cable operator and its holding companies more than $150 million in a cable acquisition.

The suit, filed April 6 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Santa Ana, claims St. Louis-based Charter's legal counsel in the deal ' Irell & Manella LLP ' erred in legal preparations for a transaction in which Charter holding companies acquired Bresnan Communications systems from the Bresnan family and investors that included AT&T.

Bresnan owners were to get units in a Charter holding company, which could later be converted to Charter Communications stock or cash.

It wasn't immediately clear what prompted Kanovsky's suicide.

"He was interviewing a client," said a man who works in the suite. "He just got up, opened the window and jumped."

According to news reports, more than 30 people have committed suicide by jumping from the 103-story building since the skyscraper opened in 1931.

Former US vice-presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, convicted in March of perjury and obstruction of justice, will be appealing the verdict according to documents filed in court Friday. Libby's defense team had previously planned to request a new trial, bids for which are rarely granted. Libby's appeal may focus on a decision by US District Judge Reggie B. Walton to allow prosecutors to present evidence to the jury that Libby's defense viewed as being prejudicial, such as White House briefing room videos which US Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald played to show Libby's eagerness to publicly conceal conversations he had with reporters about CIA official Valerie Plame.

Libby was convicted by a federal jury after 10 days of deliberation in a case that began January 23. Libby was convicted of two counts of perjury, one count of lying to the FBI and one count of obstruction of justice. He was acquitted on one count of lying to the FBI. Libby's sentencing is scheduled for June 5.

Prosecutors in Louisiana are investigating Shelton in connection with the death of Justin James, 19, in October 2005. Coroner's officials ruled his death a homicide, saying he died of an overdose of cocaine, Xanax and morphine. Shelton was the last person with James.

Shelton's career at Manhattan Beach ended in 2003 after he accused former Chief Ernest Klevesahl and other officers of harassing him because he was gay. He later was arrested on drug prescription forgery charges in Long Beach and for trespassing with an 18-year-old man on a ranch in Moorpark.

Kumar, who has not served any prison time yet, also faces a lawsuit filed by CA seeking repayment of $14.9 million it fronted for Kumar's legal defense. The settlement comprises part of the over $1 billion in restitution due to victims of the CA revenue-swapping scheme.

The Mississippi Supreme Court Thursday upheld the manslaughter convictions of former Ku Klux Klan organizer Edgar Ray Killen. Killen, now 82, was sentenced to 60 years in prison in 2005, receiving one 20-year sentence for each of the 3 young men who were killed in 1964 after assisting African-Americans in registering to vote. Killen appealed his sentence on a number of grounds, including prejudice in the 41-year pre-indictment delay resulting in, among other things, faded witness memories. The court rejected any contention of actual prejudice from the delay, citing the fact that Killen's own witnesses had testified live about the events of 1964, and none claimed problems with faded memories.

The court further rejected Killen's argument that the delay was intentionally used to gain a tactical advantage. Killen claimed in his brief that the political climate in Mississippi in the 1960s would have made a conviction back then far less likely. The court expressed surprise that Killen would even attempt to claim present prejudice stemming from the fact that he was not tried by a white-prejudiced jury.