California

Fax company sued for $2.2 trillion

Fed up with unwanted ads for phone accessories, credit services and stock tips on his fax machine, a Silicon Valley executive sued a company that sends bulk faxes Thursday, demanding $2.2 trillion in damages.

While the amount may seem wildly inflated, technology entrepreneur Steve Kirsch believes that’s the sum consumers should get if the penalty is assessed for each fax, and the damages are tripled as federal law allows. The lawsuits seek class-action status.

Kirsch said a torrent of ads he received last fall had come with no phone number he could call to get his fax number removed.

Kirsch filed the lawsuits in Santa Clara County Superior Court and U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Both target Fax.com, an Aliso Viejo-based company that sends bulk fax advertisements, and as many as 10,000 advertisers.

Fax.com’s CEO, Kevin Katz, characterized the allegations as “unfounded and absurd.”

Washington

Link between violence, malaria drug scrutinized

The Army is sending a team of specialists to Fort Bragg, N.C. to investigate common factors among four soldiers accused of killing their wives, including possible side effects from an anti-malaria drug prescribed to soldiers in Afghanistan.

An Army spokeswoman, Elaine Kanellis, said Thursday that the probe would examine “any possible physical, behavioral and any pharmaceutical aspects” that the soldiers have in common. That includes probing their use of Lariam, a popular anti-malaria drug, which has been cited in a spate of lawsuits alleging that it contributes to psychological problems and even suicide.

The drug, known generically as mefloquine, is one of two obvious links connecting the soldiers. The other was the men’s military history; three were special operations soldiers who had recently returned from Afghanistan.