KB ex-CEO quits Edison boards

Former KB Home Chief Executive Bruce Karatz, who retired last week amid a stock option scandal, has resigned from the boards of directors of Rosemead-based Edison International and its utility, Southern California Edison Co., Edison said Monday.

The board resignations were effective Nov. 13 and “did not involve any disagreement” relating to Edison, according to regulatory filings.

Honeywell International Inc. said Karatz had resigned from its board Nov. 14.

“Bruce was the one who took the initiative.... It’s common when a director’s employment status changes to resign from the board,” said Hollis Rafkin-Sax, a spokeswoman for O’Melveny & Myers, the law firm representing Karatz.

Karatz left the L.A. home builder after an internal investigation found that he had picked stock option grant dates that inflated the value of the options to himself and other executives.

*

-- Elizabeth Douglass