Ex-Farmland CEO can seek benefits

A former chief executive of bankrupt Farmland Industries Inc. can try to collect $3.6 million in deferred compensation and retirement benefits he claims the company owes him, a federal bankruptcy court has decided.

Robert Honse, who headed Farmland for 20 months until retiring in mid-2002, can add his name to the list of unsecured creditors now receiving checks in Chapter 11 proceedings for the company, now called FLI. Unsecured creditors currently are receiving 86 cents on the dollar for their claims and could receive more.

Honse, who already has received $271,360, originally claimed he was owed $5.9 million. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jerry Venters approved Honse’s claim Tuesday after settlement negotiations between Honse and Farmland’s bankruptcy trustee.

Courts

Jiffy Lube settles case

An Oklahoma judge approved a settlement Wednesday between Jiffy Lube International Inc. and millions of plaintiffs who sued over small fees the company charged on its oil changes.

The agreement settles at least nine similar lawsuits from California to New Jersey over Jiffy Lube’s environmental surcharges, which ranged from 80 cents to $1.25 at 400 company-owned stores and were as much as $2 at some stores owned by franchise holders.

Under the deal, Jiffy Lube will provide more than 7 million customers of its company-owned stores with a coupon good for $5 off an oil change. The company also agreed not to charge the fees anymore.

Discrimination

Government files suit against UMB Financial

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit Wednesday against UMB Financial Corp., charging the firm with denying a Kansas City-area man a job because he is a quadriplegic.

The suit claims the Kansas City, Mo.-based bank refused to hire Rodney Graves in late 2002 as a customer support and sales agent because of his disability.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., seeks back pay and damages for Graves, arguing that he was a qualified applicant who had experience in a similar position with AT&T Corp. until he was laid off.

Agriculture

National Beef predicts meat market rebound

Citing the expected reopening of Japanese markets next year and President Bush’s promise last week to soon allow Canadian-raised cattle back into the United States, officials with National Beef Packing Co. LLP said Wednesday they were “optimistic” the nation’s beef industry could rebound from the mad cow disease scare.

National Beef, based in Kansas City, is the nation’s fourth-largest beef processor.