The New York Times reports that Federal securities regulators won't be bringing civil charges against Apple over the whole stock options debacle that has hounded the company for nearly a year. The Cupertino-based company can now breathe a sigh of relief, but not everybody's in the clear just yet.

According to the Times, lawyers for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against two former Apple execs in connection to the options issue. Of the two defendants, former Apple general counsel Nancy R. Heinen will be contesting the accusations.

The other, Fred D. Anderson, chief financial officer from 1996 to 2004, apparently reached a settlement "without admitting or denying wrongdoing."

"Steve Jobs dodged a bullet," said Mark C. Zauderer, a New York trial lawyer who specializes in white-collar cases. "This is another circumstance where the government is going after an easier target. It will generally shy away from situations where the evidence is ambiguous or subject to different interpretations."