Qwest agrees to $50 million class action settlement
By Erik Ricasa
Published on July 23, 2005
The suit alleges Qwest sidestepped a quarterly portion of $273 million to investors who held shares of US West before a 2000 merger of the two companies.
A spokesman for Qwest denies the claims and said the company decided to settle to avoid more legal fees and the possibility of a larger verdict.
A shareholder filed suit in 2000, saying that US West announced on June 5 that shareholders as of the June 30 merger date would receive a dividend of 53.5 cents per share.
Two days later, the company revised the date, saying that only shareholders as of July 10 would receive a dividend, which would be cut to 5 cents per share.
The $50 million settlement will be divided, with some portions going to shareholders as of the merger date, and some covering legal fees.
The final settlement conference is scheduled for Aug 30.
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