Bellsouth Settles With the Quakers (and the rest of the Class)

According to press reports (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) BellSouth Corp. (NYSE: BLS) has settled the securities class action lawsuit pending against the company and certain current and former officers and directors for $35 million.

The case is pending before Judge William S. Duffey, Jr in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Quaker Capital Management, a Pittsburgh based money management firm and registered investment advisor is the lead plaintiff in the BellSouth litigation. Bernstein Liebhard & Lifshitz, LLP and Chitwood Harley Harnes LLP are co-lead counsel.

A copy of the order appointing lead plaintiff and lead counsel is available here.

As noted in the Journal-Constitution article, the litigation includes both open market purchasers and shareholders that acquired BellSouth shares through the BellSouth Direct
Investment Plan.

Daily Trivia: With the proposed merger between BellSouth and AT&T Inc. (itself the result of a merger between SBC Communications Inc. and AT&T), the "Ma Bell" network is now down to just three of the seven original Regional Bell Operating Companies (known as "Baby Bells") formed in the wake of the 1982 settlement of the Justice Department's antitrust suit against the American Telephone & Telegraph Company. For readers with more than a passing interest in telecommunications history, see the Bell System Memorial website.