Ardagh faces patent judgment

Ardagh Group, parent company of glass container plants in Dunkirk and Winchester, plans to appeal a U.S. District Court ruling that awarded $50 million to the plaintiff in a patent infringement case earlier this month.

A court in Delaware confirmed a jury verdict and found that Ardagh’s U.S. glass containers division infringed on a patent over technology involved in turning glass of mixed color into recycled glass of a single color.

The patent holder, Green Mountain, filed its suit shortly before Ardagh completed its 2014 acquisition of Verallia North America.

“Ardagh continues to disagree with the jury verdict and strongly believes that the case is without merit,” the company told The Irish Times. “Ardagh will therefore now vigorously appeal the verdict to the federal appeals court.”

Ardagh also said it is covered by an indemnity from the former owners of the business, Saint-Gobain.

But Saint-Gobain has told The Irish Times that Ardagh has no recourse related to the sale of Verallia.



Quinn headed to IBJ

Samm Quinn, who served as a reporter at The Commercial Review in 2013 and 2014, has accepted a job at Indianapolis Business Journal.

Quinn will start her new position April 2 and serve as IBJ’s reporter for the area north of 96th Street. She has spent the last three-plus years as a reporter for The Daily Reporter in Greenfield.

While with The CR, she won Hoosier State Press Association Awards for best news coverage with no deadline pressure and best editorial page. She has won a variety of HSPA and Associated Press Media Editors awards while in Greenfield, including HSPA honors for best business/economic news coverage and community service in December.



Deal approved

In a special meeting this week, stockholders of CVS Health Corporation voted to approve the shares of company stock to be issued in the company's acquisition of Aetna Inc. More than 98 percent of the shares voted were in favor of the proposal. The merger is expected to close in the second half of 2018, subject to required regulatory approvals.

“When this merger is complete, the combined company will be well-positioned to reshape the consumer health care experience, putting people at the center of health care delivery to ensure they have access to high-quality, more affordable care where they are, when they need it,” Larry Merlo, CVS Health president and CEO, said in a prepared statement.

“The combination of CVS Health and Aetna brings together two complementary businesses with an expanded set of unique capabilities to create a new community-based open health care model that is easier to use and less expensive for consumers,” Merlo said.



Annual meeting

The East Central Indiana Regional Partnership held its annual stakeholders meeting March 7 and detailed project activity and recent marketing efforts for its 10-county region. The organization was founded in 2005 to market the assets and resources of East Central Indiana in an effort to bring new jobs and new capital to the region.



No abatement

Decatur City Council has rejected a tax abatement renewal request from a local trucking firm for the third time.

Prime Inc., which serves Bunge North America, has operated in Decatur more than six year. Its headquarters is in Springfield, Missouri.

The company was granted a tax abatement in 2011, but the abatement was eliminated in 2016 when the council concluded that Prime had not lived up to its promises.



New lawsuit

Walgreens is facing a new lawsuit that accuses the drugstore chain of operating an undisclosed dual pricing scheme, Bloomberg reported this week.

Under the scheme, the lawsuit alleges, people who pay for generic drugs in cash are charged less than the price reported to health insurers, Medicare and Medicaid. A federal judge ruled last week that the case can move forward as it seeks to become a class-action suit that would involve countless Walgreens customers and insurance companies.



Go better

Arby’s will be switching its 3,300 restaurants from Pepsi to Coca-Cola products over the next few months. The change is expected to be complete by the end of May. It comes 12 years after Arby’s switched the other way.

The decision followed “a full pitch” by the two beverage companies to a team from Arby’s parent company, Inspire Brands of Atlanta, a company spokesperson said. “They came at us with their best offers.”



Open house

South Adams Schools and Area 18 will be hosting an open house of the precision machining program from 3:30 to 7 p.m. Monday.

The program at South Adams High School serves students from Jay Schools, Adams Central, Bellmont, Norwell, Southern Wells and Bluffton-Harrison Schools as well as South Adams via Area 18.

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CAPT honored

Employees at Celina Aluminum Precision Technology were honored by Honda of America last week for maintaining operations in spite of the Nov. 5 tornado that knocked out power in Celina, Ohio, The Daily Standard reported.

CAPT employees received the Challenging Spirit Award, which recognizes a supplier's efforts under unusual or extraordinary requirements and performance beyond normal expectations.



Threat reported

The nasty conflict between the former chief executive officer of Lutheran Health Network and its parent company has gotten a little nastier.

The News-Sentinel reported this week that Allen County Police have received a report of a threat against Brian Bauer, who is being sued by Lutheran for allegedly disclosing confidential information.

St. Joseph Hospital CEO Karen Fordham is alleged to have said Bauer “should be shot and killed for what he did.” 

An email from parent company Community Health Systems indicated there was no reason to believe Bauer was under an actual threat, though the remarks were intemperate.



Incentives offered

The Anderson Herald Bulletin reported this week that Anderson is considering offering incentives to businesses that will be in need of new locations after the closing of Mounds Mall on April 1.

When Kokomo was faced with a similar situation, Howard County offered one-time grants of $5,000 if businesses relocated to vacant downtown storefronts.

“It was very successful in getting businesses in our downtown storefronts,” Jim Papacek, a member of the Howard County Council, told the Anderson newspaper. “It accomplished what we were hoping.”

A total of 24 businesses received the grants, and 18 are still in operation.



Ohio awards

Winner’s Meats of Darke County, Ohio, received nine ribbons recently from the Ohio Association of Meat Processors, including the grand champion prize in the summer sausage category.

The company has been in operation for 90 years.



Now open

Dollar General’s latest store has opened in Hartford City at 900 S. Walnut St.

The company operates more than 14,300 stores in 44 states.