A measure that would bar Iowa county officials from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples faces a bleak future as it sits in a House committee.

Top Republicans on Thursday said they have no plans to debate the issue, viewing it a nod to the party's social conservative wing. Top Democrats argue the measure is unconstitutional and violates a 2009 Iowa Supreme Court decision striking down a state law defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.

Backers say introducing the measure is one more opportunity to voice their displeasure with how the marriage issue has been handled.

Republican Rep. Betty De Boef (dee-BUFF') says the issue has been handled badly and that some lawmakers want to take every opportunity to make that point.

Albany Medical Center will pay $4.5 million to settle its share of a federal class-action lawsuit alleging officials conspired with counterparts at other hospitals in the area to keep pay down for about 4,000 registered nurses.

Court documents say similar settlements for about 2 percent of nurses' pay from June 2002 to June 2006 were reached with companies operating St. Peter's Hospital in Albany, St. Mary's Hospital and Samaritan Hospital in Troy and Albany Memorial Hospital.

The hospital companies admit no wrongdoing. The suit is still pending against Ellis Hospital in Schenectady.

A call to Albany Med was not immediately returned Wednesday.

Attorney Daniel Small, representing the nurses, says about $9 million altogether is in an escrow account pending the end of the case. Lawyers are requesting one-third.

Vivendi SA said Wednesday it will significantly reduce the EUR550 million provision it had made to cover potential damages for a U.S. class action case after a U.S. judge narrowed the size of the class.

The Paris-based company's potential liabilities have been slashed by 80% in light of the court victory, which will free up more cash as the group prepares to buy out Vodafone PLC's minority stake in telecoms operator SFR.

Vivendi made the provision in its 2009 accounts to cover any eventual payout after a jury in January last year found the company liable for 57 misstatements about its financial condition in the two years leading up to its near bankruptcy in 2002.

The damages arising from the ruling in January 2010, which was based on a class involving shareholders outside the U.S., could have totaled more than $9 billion, according to lawyers for the shareholders, although Vivendi's lawyer Herve Pisani rejected the sum as "unfounded."

The ruling Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell that shareholders who bought Vivendi shares outside the U.S. are barred from bringing fraud claims against the company in the U.S., considerably narrowed the overall size of the potential class.

Comcast has agreed to pay up to $23 million to Oregon customers who were charged late fees from July 15, 2003, through Nov. 22, 2010, to settle a class-action lawsuit.

Comcast also agreed to donate a total of $75,000 to the Oregon Food Bank and United Way of the Columbia and Willamette and to pay Portland lawyer David Sugerman’s legal fees of up to $5 million. Sugerman was appointed by the court to represent Comcast customers.

The lawsuit, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, involved claims “that late fees and/or administrative fees charged by Comcast to delinquent cable television subscribers...failed to comply with the requirements of Oregon law,” according to the settlement website.

Comcast did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement. An Oregon spokeswoman for Comcast said in a written statement Wednesday that the company “denies liability and maintains that the late fees are legal.”

• Drafted statewide civil rights and anti-discrimination legislation.
• Advised State of Michigan elected officials on the political and policy implications of proposed legislation.
• Served as a liaison to special interests and community groups inviting their participation in the formation of public policy.

The Law Firm of Nathaniel D. Johnson L.L.C. represents both private and public sector employees across the United States. The law firm’s representations range from negotiating severance and settlement agreements to litigation on behalf of employees in a variety of forums that include the following:

- Appellate actions.
- Group and class actions.
--State and federal court jurisdictions