A San Francisco law firm, which was sued by the bankruptcy trustee in charge of liquidating Thornburg Mortgage, has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, calling it "long on rhetoric but short on facts."

The trustee's lawsuit filed in March named attorney Karen Dempsey of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and the firm itself as part of an alleged conspiracy that involved four top Thornburg executives improperly paying themselves handsome bonuses just before the mortgage lender filed for bankruptcy last year.

In court papers filed on Monday, the law firm said the complaint did not show that Dempsy knew about the allegedly improper conduct of the executives.

"Using novel theories of conspiracy and aiding and abetting, the trustee seeks to impose what would be unprecedented 'vicarious' liability on special counsel for a debtor," the filing said.

A lawyer opened a sex discrimination trial Thursday by accusing the U.S. arm of Swiss drug company Novartis of discriminating against 5,600 female sales representatives, saying they are denied promotions and equal pay and sometimes face a hostile workplace.

Attorney Katherine Kimpel acknowledged to the jury in federal court in Manhattan that the company has extensive written materials warning against discrimination but accused it of "saying one thing on paper but another thing in real life."

She said women hired since 2002 entered a company that disrespects and undermines its female workers, resulting in lower pay, fewer promotions and sometimes a hostile workplace dominated by an "old boys network."

She said the discrimination was especially severe for women who became pregnant. Sometimes, she said, they faced managers who fished through their work looking for ways to spoil their careers or pressured them to take shorter leaves or to work while they were on leave.

Novartis attorney Richard Schnadig said the company does not discriminate against women and there was no glass ceiling.

"This is a fair, decent, responsive company that has been sensitive to women's' needs," he said. "We don't discriminate. ... the company makes no claims that we're perfect."

Schnadig said 70 percent of its sales managers are men because the demographics of the workplace have not yet recovered from the days when fewer women entered the work force. He said the company has 14,000 U.S. employees with significant numbers of senior positions held by women, some of whom will testify at the trial.

The public relations nightmare for Toyota continues. The company has been plagued with recall after recall. After its most recent announcement, the company faces a class-action lawsuit. On Feb. 9, Toyota announced that the 2010 Toyota Prius, which was previously exempt from recalls, was now being recalled because of a problem with the brake system.

At the same time, Toyota announced that the all-new Lexus HS 250h hybrid was also being recalled due to a similar brake issue. Embedded in that same announcement was a note that about 7,300 2010-model Toyota Camrys were also being recalled due to a completely unrelated issue.

Two days later, Alabama law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C. announced that they were pursuing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of more than 500,000 Toyota Prius and Lexus hybrid owners.

According to Dan Miles, head of the law firm’s consumer fraud and class action department, Toyota knew about the braking system defect well in advance of the official recall.

The Colorado parents of three children could wind up in jail after admitting in court they fabricated a story about their son in a runaway balloon to gain publicity for a possible reality TV show.

Richard Heene appeared before a Larimer County District Court judge first, pleading guilty to a felony count of falsely influencing the sheriff who led the rescue effort during the 50-mile balloon chase that captivated a global television audience Oct. 15.

Mayumi Heene pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of knowingly filing a false report with emergency services. Prosecutors said she had a lower level of culpability and cooperated with authorities, telling investigators the balloon launch was a publicity stunt two weeks in the making.

But even as the Heenes entered their guilty pleas, their attorneys' comments in court set off speculation of talk show appearances or other deals.

Judge Stephen Schapanski agreed to the attorneys' request that the couple be allowed to travel to New York and California to explore "employment opportunities." David Lane, Richard Heene's lawyer, declined to elaborate as he left the courtroom, and Heene waved off questions.