Suit, Countersuit

Amazon.com Inc. filed a countersuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc., raising the stakes in a bitter legal fight between the two companies. The online bookseller accuses Wal-Mart, the largest discount retailer, of slander, defamation and libel in the suit filed in King County Superior Court in Washington. Wal-Mart’s suit, filed in January, claims that Amazon.com raided its work force by hiring employees with access to certain business information. A Wal-Mart spokeswoman responded to Amazon.com’s claims by saying, “I don’t believe we’ve made anything but statements of fact.”