Suit Against Ex-Gemstar Executives Can Proceed

The Securities and Exchange Commission can proceed with a fraud lawsuit against former Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. Chief Executive Henry Yuen after a proposed settlement of the case stalled.

A federal judge in Los Angeles last week denied a motion by Yuen and former Gemstar Chief Financial Officer Elsie Leung to dismiss part of the case.

The SEC in 2003 accused the pair of reporting false advertising sales to inflate revenue at Los Angeles-based Gemstar, publisher of TV Guide, by about $248 million from 1999 to 2002.

Yuen and Leung had reached a tentative agreement to settle the case in January.

That settlement hasn’t been completed and regulators asked the court in June to lift a stay on the proceedings because Yuen and Leung hadn’t signed the settlement documents.