Consumers snapped up surprising numbers of flat-screen TVs, laptops, digital cameras and cell phones from Best Buy during its fourth quarter even as rival Circuit City was in bankruptcy and began liquidating its stores. The purchases helped Best Buy Co. Inc. boost sales by 10 percent, the company reported yesterday. Henrico County-based Circuit City Stores Inc. announced Jan. 16 that it would shut down and liquidate its stores. Its last store closed March 8.

When Darick Lane lost his job as an installation manager for Circuit City in November, he wasn’t sure what to do next. The Henrico County resident had a couple of choices but few prospects.

Circuit City hit with suit over pay Federal bankruptcy judge OKs sale of chain’s assets in Canada to Bell Canada Circuit City Stores Inc. got court approval yesterday to sell off its Canadian operations as word came that the company faces a class-action lawsuit by lawyers claiming some laid-off employees were not paid federally mandated WARN Act payments.

Circuit City Stores Inc. got court approval today to sell off its Canadian operations as word came that the company faces a class-action lawsuit by lawyers claiming some laid-off employees were not paid federally mandated WARN Act payments. The lawsuit, filed by the New York-based law firm Kantrowitz Goldhamer & Graifman PC, claims the failed Henrico County company violated federal law by not giving enough notice to employees it terminated and who were subsequently not paid.

Circuit City cuts its staff further Executives, directors let go as local retailer winds itself down Circuit City Stores Inc. is cutting its remaining staff even deeper as it winds down operations. The Henrico County-based company, which closed the last of its 567 stores March 8 and is in the process of going dark, said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it had cut eight of its 13 board members as well as three of its senior executives.

Circuit City Stores Inc. is cutting its remaining staff even deeper as it winds down operations. The Henrico County-based company, which closed the last of its remaining 567 stores March 8 and is in the process of going dark, said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it had cut eight of its 13 board members as well as three of its senior executives.

Bankruptcy experts urged a congressional subcommittee yesterday to examine whether changes to the bankruptcy law in 2005 led to the demise of Circuit City and other companies and the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs across many industries.

When the last Circuit City store closed Sunday evening, retail centers across the country were left with gaping holes. The Henrico County-based chain had more than 22 million square feet of retail space.

The shelves were empty, creating a desolate landscape in Circuit City’s stores with no hint of what the company once was.

In their final day open, the retailer’s stores near Short Pump and at West Broad Street and Gaskins Road had sold their remaining merchandise, leaving just phones and shelves for customers to make an offer on.

Circuit City will disappear from the retail landscape by Sunday night. All of the retailer’s remaining 500-plus stores will close by then, ending an era for a chain that began in downtown Richmond in 1949.

Circuit City will disappear from the retail landscape by Sunday night. All of the retailer’s remaining 500-plus stores will close by then, ending an era for a chain that began in a small downtown Richmond storefront in 1949 and later became the nation’s largest consumer-electronics chain.

The final sales put an end to what once was the nation’s second-largest consumer electronics retailer.

Circuit City Stores Inc. has found a buyer for its Canadian operations, which will keep the 750-plus The Source by Circuit City stores operating.

Circuit City Stores Inc. officials won’t testify before a House Judiciary panel this morning. The hearing before the House Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law was postponed because of weather. The hearing has not been rescheduled. The subcommittee is looking into how changes to federal bankruptcy law in 2005 have affected the abilities of companies to restructure and emerge from bankruptcy protection.