Defense Contractor Settles Overcharging Suit

Research & Development Laboratories Inc., a Culver City defense contractor founded by physicists from Caltech, has agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle a whistle-blower lawsuit that accused the firm of overcharging the Air Force in supplying university professors and students to government laboratories. As part of the settlement, announced by the Justice Department, the company has also agreed to give up its potentially lucrative license from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to operate a remote-sensing satellite. Officials at RDL could not be reached for comment. The company reports annual sales of more than $20 million.