Judge keeps Polaroid safe from 3 suits

Petters subsidiary Polaroid Corp. is safe from some civil lawsuits filed against it -- for now.

U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery in Minneapolis on Friday denied the request of three companies seeking to lift the freeze on civil actions in the Tom Petters case so that they could pursue their disputes with Polaroid. The three companies were South Korea-based LG Electronics Inc. and its subsidiary Zenith Electronics -- which have patent disputes with Polaroid over flat-screen televisions -- and Acorn Capital Group, a hedge fund in Greenwich, Conn., that loaned Petters $300 million, $25 million of which went to Polaroid and is in default.

Montgomery said that it's too early in the tangled Petters investigation to lift the temporary hold. She also said she wasn't convinced that the three companies would be significantly harmed if they couldn't immediately proceed with litigation against Polaroid.