Utility: Westar loses lawsuit

A federal jury has found in favor of two railroads in a multimillion-dollar breach-of-contract lawsuit brought by Western Resources Inc. regarding a coal supply contract.

Western Resources, now known as Westar Energy and headquartered in Topeka, was seeking $31 million in compensatory damages, $170 million in restitution and the termination of the remainder of the contract, which extends to 2013.

Under the 20-year contract, Union Pacific Railroad and Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway agreed to deliver coal to Western Resources’ Jeffrey Energy Center northwest of Topeka.

Western Resources alleged that the railroads’ “service crisis” in 1997 and 1998 caused the railroads to make untimely deliveries, resulting in substantial damages to Western Resources.

Architecture Realtors give awards

The Lawrence Board of Realtors Tuesday gave awards to a team of companies responsible for renovating the 901 Building and to a Lawrence resident who has been active in the Girl Scout program.

At its annual River City Recognition Awards, the Realtors’ group gave the architectural enhancement award to the designers and contractors of the building at 901 Ky. The building, which originally was a schoolhouse, was renovated during the past three years by property owners Pat Sullivan and Jim Bush of Northstar Venture Group.

Other Lawrence companies who worked on the project and were recognized Tuesday were Elements Architectural Design and Art & Sign/Luminous Neon.

The Realtors gave the humanitarian award to Karen Warner, Lawrence, for her 25 years of work in the area Girl Scout program and the Lawrence Hidden Valley Camp.

Wall Street: Earnings of interest

Kmart officials announced the company narrowed its losses slightly during the last quarter. The company posted a loss of 75 cents per share for the quarter, down from 77 cents the previous quarter. The bankrupt retailer operates a store and a distribution center in Lawrence.

Kroger Co, the owner of Dillon Stores, posted earnings of 33 cents per share, up from 31 cents per share a year ago. The earnings, however, were below analysts’ expectations of 37 cents per share.