(Reuters) Arthur Andersen Settles Fraud Suit: Judge

[420inTN]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Arthur Andersen LLP agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by investors who claimed they were cheated in the collapse of WorldCom, according to court papers released on Monday.

The settlement between the former WorldCom investors and Anderson, its former auditor, brings to a close one of the largest securities fraud lawsuits in U.S. history. A dozen former WorldCom directors along with 17 banks have previously settled.

The class-action trial opened four weeks ago, following hard on the heels of the criminal trial of former WorldCom Chief Executive Bernard Ebbers, who was found guilty on charges that he orchestrated an $11 billion fraud at the company that eventually drove it into bankruptcy.

In Monday's court papers, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote said Andersen and the plaintiffs "have executed a settlement agreement that would resolve the issues currently being tried" before her. She ordered a preliminary approval hearing for Tuesday.

more, full story: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=UREU0WOYROFLACRBAEKSFEY?type=businessNews&storyID=8287145">here.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=580&e=2&u=/nm/20050425/bs_nm/telecoms_worldcom_settlement_dc">secondary link (yahoo news)

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. More story here.....

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/08/politics/main514453.shtml




(CBS) A 1996 promotional videotape has surfaced that features Dick Cheney praising now-disgraced Arthur Andersen LLP for going above and beyond routine audits for the company he ran for five years.

The oil services firm the vice president once headed, Halliburton Co., is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for the way it accounted for cost overruns on construction jobs during Cheney's tenure. Cheney and the company were sued on Wednesday by a watchdog group alleging fraudulent accounting practices, a suit the White House dismissed as lacking merit.

[420inTN]

2. Nice.

So, nothing really's changed then.