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U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan has refused for now to allow insurers for former officers and directors of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to pay $90 million to settle a fraud lawsuit brought by investors, Reuters reported on Friday. Judge Kaplan on Thursday directed five former officers of the investment bank, including Chief Executive Richard Fuld, to file financial paperwork by May 10 to help him decide whether the settlement is fair. Judge Kaplan will review not only whether their combined liquid net worth is less than $100 million, as a mediator had found, but also whether they have other assets that could be tapped to help former Lehman investors recoup their losses on tens of billions of dollars of securities.

Three labor unions at American Airlines are appealing directly to the company's board of directors to support a merger with rival carrier US Airways Group, a step that managers at carrier's parent, AMR Corp, have so far resisted, Reuters reported yesterday. In a letter addressed to the board and signed by leaders of unions representing 55,000 flight attendants, pilots and ground workers, the unions say that a merger plan offered by US Airways will save jobs, boost revenue and shore up the combined network of the two airlines. AMR, based in Fort Worth, Texas, which filed for chapter 11 protection in November citing a need to cut labor costs, has said it is committed to emerging from chapter 11 as a stand-alone company.

Merger discussions between struggling New York law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP and law firm SNR Denton collapsed yesterday after a whirlwind nine-day courtship, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The soured talks mean that options are shrinking for Dewey, which is considering a number of alternatives including deals with other law firms, as it struggles under heavy debts and an exodus of partners in the past month. SNR Denton had suggested doing a full merger, in which it would have taken on more than 1,000 remaining Dewey lawyers. The deal, proposed by SNR Denton to Dewey leadership early last week, gained momentum throughout the week but talks faltered after Dewey leaders said that the Manhattan district attorney's office had opened a criminal investigation into the firm, with specific focus on former firm chairman Steven Davis.

Getty Realty Corp. announced yesterday that it will be immediately taking back all but one of the 788 properties that it had leased to Getty Petroleum Marketing Inc. after receiving bankruptcy court approval to do so, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. The move resolves the matter between Getty Realty and Getty Petroleum but leaves some uncertainty for the subleasees of these gas stations.

The parent company of Sonya Dakar Skin Clinic, swanky West Hollywood spa to the stars, filed for chapter 11 protection, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Founded by esthetician Sonya Dakar in 1971, Sonya Dakar Skin Clinic's first celebrity client was Drew Barrymore. It has since treated celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Sofia Vergara and Kyra Sedgwick, and it recently hosted a charity spa day with Vanessa Hudgens. The success of the spa and skincare line, however, has come at a high cost, leaving the Dakar family embroiled in numerous legal battles that have pitted Sonya Dakar, her son Yigal and her daughters, Daniella and Michal, against Sonya’s now-estranged husband, Israel, and her son Natan. The company was put in bankruptcy by Michal Dakar, who says she is president of the company but that Sonya Dakar owns 100 percent of the equity.