Apple, Shareholders Settle in Stock Backdating Suit
by , 8:35 AM EDT, September 11th, 2008
Apple has agreed to a tentative settlement in a suit filed against the company by shareholders over improperly backdated stock option grants. If approved by the court, insurance companies representing the named defendants will cough up some US$14 million, $8.85 million of which will go to the plaintiff's attorneys, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Apple executives named in the suit, including CEO Steve Jobs, have denied any wrong doing as part of the settlement agreement.
The law suit was filed after Apple revealed in 2006 that certain stock option grants issued between 1997 and 2002 were improperly backdated. The company's own investigation led to an $84 million financial results restatement for 1998 up through 2006.
None of the $14 million settlement will make it into the plaintiff's hands -- at least not directly. Since the case was a derivative action, the money will be turned over to Apple because shareholders were suing the executives on behalf of the company.
The settlement agreement is awaiting final court approval. A hearing is scheduled for October 31.
Observer Comments
Recent Headlines - Updated January 7th
- Wed, 6:20 PM
- Macworld Expo 2009 - Ecamm Introduces World’s First Bluetooth Webcam
- 6:16 PM
- News - Verbatim Announces Speaker Keyboard, Store ‘n’ Go Micro USB Drive
- 6:09 PM
- Photo Gallery - Photo Gallery: Macworld 2009 Day 2
- 3:24 PM
- Just a Thought - First Time Macworld Impression
- 12:16 PM
- News - EMC Issues Beta of Retrospect 8.0 Backup Software
- 12:04 PM
- News - REAL Server 2009 to Ship Next Month
- 11:40 AM
- News - Livescribe to Bring Pulse Smartpen Software to Mac
- 10:58 AM
- Hot Forum Topic - Reader Reactions: Apple’s Macworld Expo Keynote
- 10:39 AM
- News - Verbatim, Lexar Introduce New Flash Storage Options
- 10:20 AM
- Editorial - Don’t shoot the messenger: Content, Not Delivery Marred Apple’s Last Keynote
- 9:51 AM
- News - LaCie Releases 2big Quadra External Hard Drive Line
- 9:29 AM
- News - Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit Reveals Upcoming Office Improvements
The Mac Observer Reader Specials
- Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com
MacPro Memory 667Mhz With Apple Spec Heat Sink - 2GB $62 / 4GB $80 / 8GB $158. Click to Maximize your Macs...
Mac observers can now play Party Poker for Mac as well as Mac casino games by going to MacPokerOnline.com.
RamJet Memory: Mac Pro FB-DIMMs: 2GB Kit $95, 4GB Kit $159, 8GB Kit $309! MacBook/Pro DDR2 4GB $118, DDR3 4GB $99! Click hereFor the latest Apple products use Ciao a comparison website to find laptops like MacBook Air. Then find the best prices on MP3 players and use our comparison tool to evaluate cell phones.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

