A federal judge in Chicago today ruled that key parts a lawsuit by current and former Los Angeles Times employees can proceed against Tribune Company chairman Sam Zell and the bank that oversaw Zell’s take-over of the media giant, according to Protect Consumer Justice.org. Current Times reporter Dan Neil and former reporters Corie Brown, Henry Weinstein and Myron Levin are among the plaintiffs in the case, alleging that Zell and others breached their fiduciary duty to employees in the takeover, which was followed shortly by Tribune filing for bankruptcy. In today's ruling, the judge refused to dismiss Zell from the case