Qualcomm settles suit
|
|
March 17, 2000: 9:06 a.m. ET
Wireless firm pays approves $8.9M settlement of suit by 1,000 ex-workers
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Qualcomm Inc. said Friday it is offering $8.9 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought against it by former employees.
Qualcomm said that although it agreed to resolve the lawsuit, it is not paying anything toward the settlement, and that all payments will be made by undisclosed third parties.
The suit was brought against the San Diego firm last year by 1,000 ex-workers, and stems from Qualcomm's (QCOM: Research, Estimates) sale of its wireless unit to Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson (ERICY: Research, Estimates) and the companies' agreement to end legal disputes about patent infringements.
Qualcomm agreed to sell its terrestrial Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) wireless infrastructure business to Ericsson, which bought the division to further its wireless phone technology.
On May 6, 1999, a class action lawsuit was filed against Qualcomm by an employee on behalf of the roughly 1,200 Qualcomm employees in San Diego and Boulder, Colo., who were transferred to Ericsson as part of the acquisition.
"Qualcomm believes it provided a fair and generous compensation plan for those employees who joined Ericsson," Qualcomm Chairman and CEO Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs said. "Nonetheless, we are happy that employees received this additional compensation, allowing us to put the matter behind us and concentrate on more productive activities."
In trading Thursday, Qualcomm closed up 4-7/8 to 132-7/8.
|
|
Qualcomm
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
|
|