Legal

American Apparel, the one-time arbiter of edgy made-in-America cool, filed for bankruptcy protection early Monday, its business crippled by huge debts, a precipitous fall in sales, employee strife and a drawn-out legal battle with the retailer’s ousted founder, Dov Charney. The Chapter 11 petition, approved by the board, was filed in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware.…

The Home Depot has agreed to pay more than $83,000 to 46 women who claimed they were denied higher-paying sales jobs that went to men while they were forced to work as cashiers at a Southern California store. The U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday that The Home Depot didn't admit liability in the discrimination case…

RadioShack’s bankruptcy filing back in February probably surprised no one, and it’s also not surprising that it's taken almost eight months to sort out the affairs of a company that was 95 years old and had 4,000 stores. While many of the chain’s stores were saved and continue under a new owner, and some creditors…

The clothing chain Hollister will get rid of steps at its trademark entrances at dozens of stores across the U.S. to make the doorways wheelchair accessible as part of a settlement approved Thursday by a federal judge. The agreement marks the end of a six-year court battle involving the retailer that specializes in Southern California-inspired casual…

Stein Mart Inc. will be paying an $800,000 penalty related to Securities and Exchange Commission charges that the Jacksonville, Fla.-based retailer improperly valued its inventory. When it would permanently reduce the prices it charged customers on some items, the retailer never reduced the value it reported for those items in inventory, the SEC said in a…

U.S. supermarket chain Albertsons Companies Inc is moving ahead with plans for an initial public offering in late September or early October that could value it as much as $24 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter. The determination of Albertsons' majority owner, private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, to carry out…

Quiksilver Inc., the California clothing chain that helped spread surfer and skateboarder styles around the world, filed for bankruptcy with a plan to hand control over to its senior lenders. The company, rooted in the seaside cultures of Australia and Southern California, failed to pull off a turnaround begun in 2013, Chief Financial Officer Andrew Bruenjes…

Haggen says it's filed for protection from creditors while it tightens its business into a smaller, profitable footprint, signaling a surprisingly early demise for its unlikely bid to become a West Coast grocery superpower. The Bellingham, Wash.-based grocer on Tuesday filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition with a U.S. court in Delaware. Haggen says its creditors…

Costco willfully infringed Tiffany & Co's trademarks by selling counterfeit diamond engagement rings bearing the luxury retailer's name, and now must face a jury trial to assess damages, a U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan rejected claims by Costco that Tiffany's trademarks were invalid because they sought to prevent…

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is stepping up its probe of Staples Inc.’s takeover of rival Office Depot Inc., seeking sworn legal declarations that could be used if antitrust enforcers decide to challenge the deal, according to people contacted by the agency. The requests for sworn statements from other market participants about the deal’s impact on the…