DISMISSALS SOUGHT: Wal-Mart said in its annual report, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, that it has sought the dismissal of two federal gender discrimination class-action suits. The first one is Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., ongoing since June 2001 and filed in the Northern District of California. The case was certified by the district court and then after a series of appeals was decertified by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2011. The plaintiffs’ attorneys filed an amended complaint in October 2011, and Wal-Mart in January filed paperwork to dismiss the action in January. The second action, Odle v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., was filed in October 2011 in the Northern District of Texas, and Wal-Mart earlier this month sought to dismiss the action.