Report: Judge won't upset verdict in Kmart case

Detroit A judge has upheld a civil verdict against Charles Conaway, the former head of Kmart Corp., who was found liable for misleading investors about the retailer's health in 2001, according to the Associated Press.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Pepe vacated some findings of fact Wednesday but otherwise didn't upset the jury's verdict.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Conaway misled Kmart investors in a phone call with Wall Street analysts and in a report filed with regulators in 2001, a few months before a bankruptcy filing in 2002.

Ajury found him liable in June. Pepe has yet to rule on Conaway's financial penalty.