Automotive parts maker Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, saying it could not repay its debt amid a drop in U.S. auto sales.

The maker of auto body sealing systems and fluid handling systems said it had outstanding debt of about $1.17 billion.

"As a result of the severe downturn in the automotive industry and the accompanying decrease in production volumes, the company is overleveraged," Cooper-Standard said in court filings.

Cooper-Standard has received a commitment for $175 million in debtor-in-possession financing, which will help fund operations while it restructures in bankruptcy court. The Novi, Michigan, company has a commitment for an additional $25 million in the form of a standby uncommitted single-draw term loan facility.

The financing is subject to court approval.

Cooper-Standard, which employs about 16,000 worldwide, makes door, body and sunroof seals, as well as systems that move fuel and brake fluid throughout a vehicle.

Everyone seemingly got some tangible benefit — except for nearly all of the 1 million consumers covered by the class action lawsuit filed in their name. None of the consumers got money, only discount coupons toward new Ford purchases. Few used them.

The practice of settling class action lawsuits by doling out discount coupons rather than cash has come under fire from tort reform activists and others who complain that such lawsuits mainly benefit the lawyers — and even the companies being sued — at the expense of their clients.

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge David De Alba authorized the settlement of a class action that lawyers argued could be worth as much as $500 million to people who owned Ford Explorers during the 1990s.

In exchange for dropping the lawsuit that alleged rollover problems unfairly diminished the resale value of Explorers, Ford customers could receive a $500 discount coupon toward the purchase of a new SUV or a $300 coupon to buy another Ford vehicle. Consumers had until April 29, 2008 to apply for the coupons.

De Alba awarded the lawyers $25 million in fees and expenses after presiding over a 50-day trial without a jury in 2007. The case settled before the judge reached a verdict.

Simpson and convicted co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart won't be in a Las Vegas courtroom Monday for the 30-minute sessions allotted to their lawyers before a trio of justices from the state's only appellate court. Clark County District Attorney David Roger, who prosecuted the pair, will argue against release.

The justices won't make an immediate decision, but it is rare for the state high court to hear oral arguments on bond and even more rare to grant release.

Simpson, 62, is serving nine to 33 years for kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon in the September 2007 confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas casino hotel room. Stewart, 55, is serving 7 1/2 to 27 years.

Simpson lawyer Yale Galanter has said Simpson won't flee if he's released, poses no danger to the community and will comply with any conditions the high court sets.

"C.J. is hopeful the court will take a look at the record and see that there are multiple issues on appeal that should get him a new trial," said Stewart's lawyer, Brent Bryson.

Bryson argues that Stewart, a former mortgage broker from North Las Vegas, should have been tried separately from Simpson, an NFL Hall-of-Famer, television star and celebrity criminal defendant acquitted in the 1994 slaying of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, in Los Angeles.

Galanter and Bryson said a favorable ruling from the court would signal how justices feel about their overall appeals, which are unlikely to be decided for at least a year.

Trina Thompson filed a lawsuit last week against Monroe College in Bronx Supreme Court. The 27-year-old is seeking the $70,000 she spent on tuition.

Thompson says she's been unable to find gainful employment since she received her information technology degree in April.

She says the Bronx school's Office of Career Advancement hasn't provided her with the leads and career advice it promises.

Monroe College spokesman Gary Axelbank says Thompson's lawsuit is completely without merit.

The college insists it helps its graduates find jobs.

A U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday that Qwest Communications International Inc ex-Chief Executive Joseph Nacchio was incorrectly sentenced to six years in prison for insider trading.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the federal district court in Denver to redetermine what the correct sentence should be and strongly indicated the sentence should be less than six years.

The Denver-based appeals court also ruled that U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham, who presided at trial, had erred in ordering the former executive to forfeit $52 million, the gross proceeds from selling his Qwest stock.

The appellate judges ordered a new trial judge to redetermine the correct amount of proceeds from his insider trading that Nacchio will have to forfeit to the government.

Nacchio is serving his sentence at a federal prison camp in Pennsylvania and is awaiting a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on whether it will accept his appeal claiming that he did not receive a fair trial.

At a hearing Friday, prosecutors told D.C. Superior Court Judge Geoffrey Alprin that they have provided more than 5,000 pages of evidence to attorneys for Ingmar Guandique (gwan-DEE'-kay.)

Chandra Levy had just completed a U.S. Bureau of Prisons internship when she disappeared in 2001 after leaving her apartment in jogging clothes. Her remains were found a year later in a Washington park.

Defense attorneys say they need to interview at least 10 other possible suspects. They asked to push back the January trial date, but Alprin refused.

Guandique's lawyers have said the case against him is flawed. He was charged in the killing earlier this year.

The company, which blamed the faltering economy for a falloff in its finances, has $5.7 billion in debt, Chief Accounting Officer Tom Friel told The Associated Press.

A recession-linked decline in tourism is plaguing the casino industry after years of rising profits.

Most of Station's assets are maintained in casino-operating subsidies and affiliates and were not included in Tuesday's filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Reno, Nev. The assets included in the filing are "nominal," Friel said. Executives said operations at the 33-year-old company will continue as usual.

Station has between 100 and 1,000 creditors, Friel said.

"This is a global economic issue that has forced us to have to go back and reset our debt," Chief Operating Office Kevin Kelley said during an interview.

"The restructuring of our debt will provide us with the financial flexibility necessary to meet the challenges of the current economic environment," Chairman and CEO Frank J. Fertitta III said in a statement. "Equally important, it will provide the resources necessary for us to continue to invest in our properties, take advantage of opportunities as they arise and ultimately enable us to emerge as a stronger company."