The suit was filed in 2002 by bondholders who lost out when the
company was declared bankrupt, and alleged that AT&T misused
its position on the
ISP
's board to build its own
replacement high-speed network when Excite@Home filed for
bankruptcy in September 2001. It claimed that fiduciary duties owed
to the
ISP
were breached and its trade secrets
misappropriated.
The case was due to go to trial on Tuesday, but has now
settled.
According to the Excite@Home Bondholders' Liquidating Trust, the
settlement, which is subject to approval by the United States
Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco, consists of a $340 million
payment from AT&T to the Trust, and the release of $60 million
in reserves established for the benefit of AT&T in the
Excite@Home bankruptcy.
Other claims against Comcast Corporation and Cox Communications,
also shareholders in the company, have not been resolved and are
ongoing.
However, Comcast will effectively pay $170 million of the
settlement, as it purchased AT&T Broadband from AT&T in
2002 and is contractually bound to reimburse the telco for a
proportion of the payment.
