Biz Buzz

LONG ISLAND

CA buys IT consulting firm

CA Technologies has bought a McLean, Va., information-technology consulting firm with a long history of federal government contracts. CA, of Islandia, did not disclose the price tag for the privately held Base Technologies, which it said would help CA tap into an estimated $86-billion market in U.S. government information- technology contracts through 2015. Base has 23 years of experience fulfilling contracts for the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, the Federal Aviation Administration, and other agencies, CA said. More recently it has worked for the Department of Homeland Security. "The acquisition of Base Technologies further expands our role as a strategic partner and adviser to U.S. public sector customers on all computing environments and platforms," Adam Elster, general manager, CA Services, said in a news release. "This allows CA to better take advantage of a growing market for software and IT services." -- JOSEPH MALLIA

Libel suit dismissed

A New York Supreme Court judge on Wednesday dismissed a libel case against Newsday over a 2008 article that included a description about a Centereach auto dealership's car sale to a highly functioning autistic man. Judge Melvyn Tanenbaum rejected claims by Hustedt Chevrolet that the story of a 25-year-old's transaction implied that the retailer knowingly took advantage of a handicapped person. The article did not suggest that Hustedt employees knew or should have known about the man's condition, Tanenbaum wrote in his decision. The judge further stated that even if there had been such an implication, "The Newsday article outlined all the relevant facts surrounding the transaction, and any negative implication constitutes an opinion based upon the disclosed facts and is therefore not actionable as libel." Hustedt sued Newsday, Sean Beaudoin -- who purchased the car -- his mother, Paula, and reporter Richard J. Dalton Jr., who wrote the story. The dealership withdrew its complaint against the Beaudoins, and Dalton was never served with the complaint.-- TED PHILLIPS