Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray council workers have a secured £334 million settlement following court action against US sportswear firm Under Armour.
North East Scotland Pension Fund (NESPF), which administers a scheme for 78,000 workers, agreed a deal with the firm in June.
It has now been approved by the court and the money will be distributed to claimants.
NESPF invested millions of pounds in Under Armour stock, however accused the firm of making false statements about its products after losing money.
It is understood the pension fund lost around £6m.
Agreement in principle
NESPF’s legal team, US firm Robbins Geller Rudman and Dowd LLP, was readying for a federal jury trial scheduled to take place on July 15.
It was acting as the lead plaintiff in a class action against Under Armour.
A class action is a type of lawsuit where one plaintiff brings forward the claim on behalf of a larger group of people who have suffered a similar loss.
Under Armour is based in Baltimore, Maryland. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and has a market cap of £2.3bn.
In June the company issued a statement on its website stating it had “consistently denied” the accusations from NESPF.
It said it had only entered into the agreement “in principle”.
And insisted this “is not an admission or finding of fault or wrongdoing”, given the costs and risks inherent in litigation.
The legal firm said: “Under the terms of the agreement, Under Armour will pay £334 million to settle claims brought on behalf of purchasers of Under Armour’s publicly traded shares from September 16, 2015, to November 1, 2019.
“Under Armour has also agreed to two governance changes for a specified time period that are detailed in the company’s 8-K filed with the SEC.”
Wrongdoing denied by Under Armour
Under Armour chief legal officer Mehri Shadman said the firm denies any wrongdoing.
However, the agreement will help the firm move past the “more than seven-year-old matter”. It would also avoid the ongoing distraction of litigation.
She said: “We firmly believe that our sales practices, accounting practices, and disclosures were appropriate, and deny any wrongdoing in this case.”
The settlement, if approved by the court, would resolve all claims against Under Armour and other defendants in this matter, it said.
An NESPF spokesman said: “We are awaiting further details of the court decision.”
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