Court rules for Drummond in multimillion-dollar lawsuit over rail rates
A jury this month agreed with Drummond Coal Co. in a federal lawsuit against Norfolk Southern Railway that a material breach occurred in a contract over shipping coal to power plants, potentially negating tens of millions in penalties the Birmingham-based company incurred. A nine-person jury found this week that the contract break occurred in July 2010, roughly six months into a contract between Drummond and Norfolk Southern. The case will now shift to whether the railroad owes Drummond millions in fees and penalties it has already paid in a case which one federal judge wrote was “like two trains passing in the night.” – AL.com
Alabama trade mission headed to Arabian peninsula
A trade mission of Alabama business leaders is visiting the United Arab Emirates next week to strengthen business ties with the Middle East and North Africa. Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield will huddle with business organization and government officials in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Accompanying him will be representatives of Alabama Roll Products, American Wind Inc., Atlas RFID Solutions, Fluid Solutions, Invictus Aerospace Group, Irrigation Components, Mid-America Engine and SEPCO Inc. – AL.com
Hugh Culverhouse Jr. still making donation news
Hugh Culverhouse Jr. and the University of Alabama may have ended a summer-long spat, but he’s not done irritating pro-lifers. The Sarasota businessman just gave $250,000 to Planned Parenthood for a Birmingham abortion clinic in a state that’s come as close to any other to outlawing the practice. “If a Legislature told men what to do with their body, there would be a revolution,” he said. – Florida Politics
Alabama ranks No. 4 in publication’s 2019 ‘Top States for Business’ survey
Alabama ranked near the top of Area Development magazine’s 2019 “Top States for Business” survey, continuing a streak of high rankings in the national publication’s annual analysis. Overall, Alabama earned a No. 4 ranking and Top 10 marks in 11 individual categories in Area Development’s 2019 survey, underscoring the state’s business-friendly environment, leading job-training programs and other advantages for economic development. – Made in Alabama
New round of federal grants bolster downtown Mobile airport
The Federal Aviation Administration, for the second time in three months, is doling out over $1 million in grants aimed at boosting Mobile’s Downtown Airport. The latest grant was part of an overall $2.63 million to five Alabama airports that were included in an announcement Friday by U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby’s office. – AL.com
From death to ‘visionary’: I-10 project likely to resurface in long-range plans
The $2.1 billion plan for the Interstate 10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project that would have included a controversial toll will be officially removed from a critical short-term planning document on Wednesday. Any expansion will then become a “vision” for, perhaps, a new generation to tackle. – AL.com
As UAW strike enters second week, losses growing
As the UAW strike against General Motors enters its second week Monday, the damage to the Michigan and U.S. economies is growing. The impact of a short strike by GM’s nearly 50,000 UAW-represented workers could always be made up fairly easily. The company could draw down inventories and then run some extra shifts to make up production. Workers could bank some overtime pay to make up for the pay lost while on the picket line. But a strike that lingers into weeks creates wounds not so easily healed. – Detroit Free Press
