Legal

Across the country state legislatures are considering — or in some cases have already enacted — laws that attempt to collect sales tax from online purchases made from out-of-state retailers by state residents. In large part the efforts are being driven by big-box retailers that are looking to harm competitors. Many of these large retailers are spending serious time and money lobbying lawmakers nationwide to consider these proposals despite their historical failure to generate new revenue.

Books-A-Million's efforts to secure the inventory, fixtures, equipment and leasehold interests for 30 Borders stores ended unsuccessfully because the company couldn't agree with Borders on terms. The going-out-of-business at these locations commenced, Borders announced.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association may sue the state if officials don’t require Amazon.com to pay sales taxes when it begins using two distribution centers now under construction in Tennessee.

Wal-Mart has agreed to give women planning to sue for sex bias an extra 90 days to file their cases, a lawyer for the company said. Wal-Mart won a ruling in June that threw out certification of a gender-bias lawsuit representing as many as 1.5 million current and former female workers. The court said the plaintiffs failed to prove Wal-Mart had a nationwide policy that led to gender discrimination.

Kim Kardashian's lawsuit against Old Navy may have been filed to protect a huge deal the Kardashian clan has with Sears. Kardashian said she filed suit against Old Navy because she felt they were trying to intentionally deceive people into thinking she was a spokeswoman for the company by using a girl who looked just like her in their commercials. But, TMZ reported the the suit was filed because Sears felt the Old Navy commercial compromised it's ad campaign for the Kardashian Kollection.

Two fake Apple retail stores in the city of Kunming, China, have been ordered to close because they don't have official business permits. The stores were allegedly not in trouble for copyright infringement, but only because they didn't have the proper business licenses. Three other counterfeit Apple stores that operate without Apple's authorization remain in Kunming.

Francesca's Holdings Corporation today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 10 million shares of common stock at a price of $17.00 per share. The shares will be listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and will trade under the symbol "FRAN" beginning today.

Kim Kardashian filed a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles against Old Navy for employing a model who looks more or less exactly like her in ads her lawyers claim “evoke [her] identity and persona.” The amorphously famous reality star “is known for her look and style,” her lawyer said in a statement. “When her intellectual property rights are violated, she intends to enforce them.”

The Justice Department says 14 people have been arrested for allegedly mounting a cyberattack on the website of PayPal in retaliation for suspending the accounts of WikiLeaks.

If Borders closes all its stores, competing bookstores like Barnes & Noble will probably suffer through some short-term pain. Marketplace's Jeff Tyler takes a look at the repercussions.