Bennett Environmental will settle

Bennett Environmental (a soil treatment company) has decided to settle a securities class action lawsuit:

The firm said the suit will be settled for $9.75 million, which will be paid primarily by its insurers, with a contribution of $750,000 from the company.

The Oakville, Ontario-based company said the claims in the suit, which was pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, will be dismissed with no admission of wrongdoing.

The proposed settlement is still subject to negotiating definitive settlement documents and final court approval.

The case dates back to 2004 when a number of class action suits were filed over Bennett’s disclosure of an unfavorably revised contract for a key U.S. cleanup site in New Jersey.

The revised contract slashed soil shipments and reduced the company’s contract backlog, sending its stock tumbling.