Filing

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reports that business and personal bankruptcies have fallen in the past year by 8 percent over the year before. Maybe the drop off occurred because the most desperate businesses and consumers have already filed. For the past 12 months ending Sept. 30, a total of 1,467,221 individual and companies filed for relief from creditors. Most of those - 1,417,326 - are personal bankruptcies. In comparison, 1,596,355 bankruptcies were filed for the 12-month period last year.

The University of Maryland police trainee critically injured after being shot during a training exercise with Baltimore Police in February has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the city and Baltimore County. The lawsuit claims that Officer Rodney Gray and other trainees were directed to go behind a window inside an abandoned building where police were conducting an unauthorized training drill and that they were "targeted as part of the exercise. " Gray says instructor William Scott Kern then "intentionally or negligently" fired his weapon in the direction of the trainees.

The IRS says it will extend the tax deadline for filing and paying taxes to July 15 for Boston area taxpayers and others affected by the bombing on Monday, the tax deadline. This three-month extension will automatically apply to taxpayers living in Suffolk County, which includes Boston. Taxpayers outside that area and adversely affected by the explosions must call - starting April 23 rd - 866-562-5227 to claim this relief. The IRS says won't assess penalties for being late with the filing or payments, but the agency says by law it must charge interest on late payments, which is a 3 percent annual rate that compounds daily.

The retirement next month of Chief Judge Robert M. Bell of the Maryland Court of Appeals is a critical event, the first transition in the leadership of Maryland's courts in nearly 20 years. A matter of central importance for the new chief judge must be the shocking state of the docket of the state's highest court, a problem that long predates Chief Judge Bell's stewardship. Article IV, Section 15 of the Maryland Constitution requires that "an opinion, in writing, shall be filed within three months after the argument or submission of the cause.

Medifast Inc., an Owings Mills company that sells weight-loss control programs, said Friday that it delayed filing its fourth-quarter financial results with the Securities and Exchange Commission – a disclosure that caused its share price to plummet 24 percent. Medifast said in a statement that it expects to release its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2010 by the end of this month, after needing additional time "to review the recognition of certain expenses in prior periods.

The publisher of the Baltimore Jewish Times, a weekly newspaper in the city since 1919, filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday and blamed its financial woes on losing a legal fight over breaking a contract with its printer. Alter Communications, which also publishes Style and Chesapeake Life magazines, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. The filing will not affect the company's day-to-day operations for employees, readers and advertisers, the company said, and the Jewish Times and the magazines will continue to be published.

The agent for Orioles minor-leaguer Dontrelle Willis is in the process of filing a grievance against the club, alleging the Orioles told Willis his was given his release but then placed him on the restricted list, preventing him from pursuing other baseball opportunities. Willis' agent, Matt Sosnick, said Willis was told he would be given his release by Orioles baseball administration director Tripp Norton on Wednesday. But on Sunday, Willis was placed on the minor-league restricted list.

Just a few years ago, SafeNet Inc., a Harford County technology firm, was wracked by a stock options scandal that sent its former chief financial officer to prison, tanked its stock price and eventually led to investors' taking the company private. But on Monday, Belcamp-based SafeNet announced that it is ready to hit Wall Street again. The company disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission its plans to go public in a $300 million stock offering — one of the biggest IPOs by a Maryland company in years.

Baltimore County Council members said Tuesday that county development chief Arnold Jablon should not have acted as the attorney for a local environmental engineer who has worked for builders on projects in Baltimore County. Jablon, who worked for the Venable law firm before becoming head of the county's department of permits, approvals and inspections this year, is the lawyer of record in a small-claims case brought in Baltimore County District Court this summer by George Perdikakis.

CHICAGO -- One of the nation's most venerable brewers, G. Heileman Brewing Co., has become the latest victim of the widespread use of debt in the 1980s.Heileman, which has a brewery in Baltimore County, filed yesterday in New York City for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code.The company was unable to make payments on the mountain of debt piled onto its balance sheet when it was taken over in 1987 by Alan Bond, an Australian entrepreneur.Heileman's brands are Colt .45 and Champale malt liquors, Old Style and Black Label beers and La Croix sparkling water.

A Morgan State University professor accused of defrauding the National Science Foundation also paid out Department of Defense grant money to students in exchange for kickbacks, federal prosecutors allege in a court filing. Manoj Kumar Jha, director of the university's Center for Advanced Transportation and Infrastructure Engineering Research, handed stipend checks to students at the university, the document said, but demanded they pay part of the money back to him. The students were not asked to do any research in return, prosecutors wrote.

The owner of Basta Pasta restaurants in Fallston and Timonium is accused of sexually harassing employees, including teenagers, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, alleges that owner Michael Sakellis, repeatedly would inappropriately touch or would make sexual comments toward female employees, some of whom were teenagers. One female employee said she was given alcohol, which she believed was drugged in an attempt to sexually assault her, the suit says.

A Baltimore County councilman did not disclose his outside employment over the past several years, including his work with a painting and drywall company that has a $3.1 million contract at a new high school being built in his district. Councilman John Olszewski Sr., a Dundalk Democrat, only recently revealed in required disclosure forms that he has employment outside his elected post, filing amended reports going back to 2009. Council members and other county officials must report any outside jobs on annual reports so that the public can examine whether they have conflicts of interest.

Four former and current African-American Annapolis police officers have filed a federal racial-discrimination lawsuit against the city, claiming that they were unfairly treated, subjected to harassment, wrongly turned down for promotions and, for two of them, given walking papers. "African-American officers in the Annapolis police department are subjected to unequal treatment," claims the lawsuit, which was filed this month in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. It also claims that the black officers were singled out for harsher discipline than white colleagues.

Baltimore police officer Robert W. Mitchell faces a second-degree assault charge after police and prosecutors accused him of overstepping his powers and beating a young man more than a year ago. The Baltimore state's attorney's office also charged Mitchell on Friday with two counts of misconduct in office. Prosecutors allege that Mitchell beat Baltimore resident Tiyon Williams in the 1000 block of N. Mount St. on May 19, 2012. "The allegations against Mr. Mitchell are reprehensible," Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts said in a statement, "and I promise we will continue to aggressively target those who sacrilege the good men and women of this department and the sacred privilege of serving our community.

Baltimore County officials gave proper notice of its meeting where residents could testify about a new stormwater fee, according to state panel that rules on open meeting complaints. In an opinion this week, the Open Meetings Compliance Board said county documentation shows it met legal requirements to advertise a County Council work session where the public could comment on the fee, as well as the legislative meeting where the council voted to adopt it. Both meetings were held in April.

A Pikesville man has filed an Open Meetings Act violation complaint against the Baltimore County Council, alleging that citizens didn't get proper notice of a meeting where they could have testified about the county's new stormwater fee. The council voted 5-2 on April 15 to approve the fee, which they discussed at a work session the week before. County officials say they properly advertised that work session, where the council also discussed other bills. In his complaint to the state's Open Meetings Compliance Board, Ralph Jaffe said four people testified about the fee at the work session - a fact that he said indicates people didn't know about the meeting.

Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman said she's taken steps toward running in 2014 for a full term. While the Republican hasn't declared her candidacy officially, Neuman said in an interview Thursday she's filed the paperwork to form a campaign committee. The only office she's considering is county executive. "I've had a tremendous amount of support from the community," she said. "I wanted to at least explore the idea. " The County Council selected Neuman as county executive on Feb. 21 after the resignation of John R. Leopold, who was found guilty of misconduct in office.