MONTVALE, NJ - A federal judge has approved the $9 million settlement of a class action lawsuit filed against current and former senior executives at The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P).
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2011 by company shareholders, alleged that A&P executives made a number of “false and misleading statements” that deceived investors about the condition of A&P’s business, artificially inflated the company’s stock price, and enabled the company to sell more than $430 million in debt on more favorable terms, according to Law360.
Among those named in the lawsuit include Christian W.E. Haub, Eric Claus, Ron Marshall, Samuel Martin, and Brenda Galgano, Law360 reports. A&P was not named as a defendant.
A&P filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2010 as a result of its heavy debt and the increasingly competitive market. The company has since emerged from bankruptcy in 2012.
Peter S. Pearlman, Plaintiffs attorney from Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrman & Knopf LLP, said in a statement, “Lead Plaintiffs and their counsel have concluded, after a thorough investigation of the factual and legal issues in the litigation, in particular the factual and legal defenses raised by Defendants regarding loss causation and damages, as well as the expense and risk of continued litigation, that under the circumstances the proposed settlement is an excellent result and is in the best interests of the Class.”
U.S. District Judge William Martini has scheduled a final hearing discussing whether to grant final approval of the settlement for December.
