Business: Good Faith

"Rip Van Winkling is no excuse" was the astonishing accusation hurled by New York Supreme Court Justice William H. Black last summer against Bethlehem Steel's august Chairman Charles M. Schwab and a batch of lesser bigwigs. Mr. Schwab failed to recall what happened between 1927 and 1934 when the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, which he once headed, lost $215,000 on an engineering index. Members sued to recover, and Justice Black found against Tycoon Schwab's "inconceivable ignorance" (TIME, June 20). Last week the Appellate Division delivered a decision, devoid of Justice Black's wit...