Eight lawsuits alleging medical malpractice by a former West Virginia doctor can continue toward trial while he settles his debts in bankruptcy court, a judge has ordered, the Associated Press reported today. Dr. John A. King consented to the rulings issued Wednesday by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas B. Bennett, which lift the stays normally applied to civil lawsuits targeting bankrupt defendants. The eight are the first of 124 malpractice claims against King slated for trial. Each alleges that the 49-year-old osteopath botched surgeries or otherwise harmed patients during his six months at the former Putnam General Hospital. Now living in Alabama, King filed for bankruptcy under chapter 7 last month, listing more than $125,000 in debts.

MSDT Acquisition Corp., an affiliate of the Hawthorne-based company Premio Foods Inc., is in the process of purchasing all the Topps Meat Co. equipment, trademarks and beef, some of which may be contaminated, the North Jersey Herald reported today. Elizabeth, N.J.-based meat company Topps went bankrupt in September after a recall of 21.7 million pounds of beef patties that possibly contained the E. coli virus. According to federal bankruptcy court filings, MSDT will purchase the Topps equipment and trademark for $635,000. The company will also buy 2.1 million pounds of meat - possibly contaminated - for $190,000, according to published reports.

Unsecured creditors of Musicland Holdings Corp. have filed another wave of adversary cases against companies with claims against the bankrupt entertainment retailer in a bid to recover more than $3 million in allegedly fraudulent payments made before the company’s chapter 11 filing, Bankruptcy Law360 reported yesterday. The 10 cases, filed separately on Friday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, seek to recover transfers that were made to a number of companies, including Grant Thornton LLP and Accenture LLC, during the 90-day preferential period before Musicland filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 12, 2006.

Amid another month of weak sales, two of Detroit’s Big Three plan to slash vehicle production early next year, reflecting toughening U.S. economic conditions and mounting challenges keeping their turnaround efforts on track, the Wall Street Journal reported today. GM and Ford yesterday outlined production cuts aimed at keeping output in line with falling demand. GM said it would build 950,000 vehicles during the first three months of 2008, down 11 percent from the year-earlier period. Ford cut its first-quarter production forecast 7.4 percent to 685,000 vehicles.