Orange County

In His Defense: On Thursday, attorneys for Rep. Christopher Cox are scheduled to argue in Orange County Superior Court why the Newport Beach Republican should be dropped as a defendant in fraud lawsuits brought by investors and the court-appointed receiver in the First Pension Corp. scandal. Irvine-based First Pension and related companies collapsed in 1994, leaving 8,000 investors with losses of more than $135 million. A hearing on Cox’s motion has been postponed a number of times since he was named in lawsuits last spring. Judge Francisco Firmat is scheduled to hear arguments on behalf of Cox and others at 2:30 p.m. The lawsuits say Cox is named because of his role in handling certain First Pension matters while a law partner at Latham & Watkins in the mid-1980s. Cox has denied any wrongdoing. The law firm and the accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand also are asking that the case against them be dismissed.