Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MMC), a global professional services firm, has announced the preliminary settlement of the securities class action pending against the company in the S.D.N.Y. The case was originally filed in 2004 and is based on alleged false financial statements related to an insurance brokerage industry practice of charging and collecting “contingent commissions.”
The settlement is for $400 million, with $205 million to be covered by insurance. According to a press release issued by one of the lead plaintiffs, the average recovery will be $.77 a share. Bloomberg has an article on the settlement and Reuters follows-up with a profile of the Ohio Attorney General and his involvement in the case.
The 10b-5 Daily has previously posted about the Marsh case in relation to the court’s decisions on collective scienter and confidential witnesses.
The 10b-5 Daily 