[Dataloss] ChoicePoint to settle shareholder suit

[lyger]

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/business/stories/2008/01/24/choice_0125.html

Alpharetta-based info broker ChoicePoint said it has agreed to pay $10 
million to settle a class action lawsuit stemming from the 2004 theft of 
records of more than 160,000 people and subsequent stock sales by top 
executives.

The company said neither ChoicePoint nor the individual defendants -- 
chief executive Derek Smith or operating chief Doug Curling -- admitted to 
any liability.

The theft, though detected by ChoicePoint in the fall of 2004, was not 
disclosed to the public until Feb. 15, 2005.

ChoicePoint said it has entered into a letter of understanding, subject to 
court approval, through which it and a group of shareholders will settle 
the lawsuit that stemmed from the security breach.

Smith and Curling netted $16.6 million in profit from stock sales before 
the records theft was disclosed. The timing of the sales lead to an 
investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Earlier this week 
the SEC said it has completed the probe and will take no enforcement 
action.

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