Court Shields Signal Cos. Chiefs in Shareholder Suit

The identities of about 150 Signal Cos. executives who may be paid up to $106 million in executive compensation as a result of the company’s recent merger with Allied Corp. will remain confidential, a San Diego Superior Court judge has ruled.

Judge Jack Levitt late Wednesday granted a protective order to keep secret the names of Signal Cos. executives and the amount of their compensation. The order does not pertain to top management, whose salary and benefits are publicly disclosed in the company’s proxy statement.

The issue was raised by attorneys representing dissident Signal shareholders, who have filed a class-action lawsuit to block what they claim is a “gigantic windfall” of as much as $106 million in compensation to company executives because of last month’s merger with Morristown, N.J.-based Allied.

A hearing on whether to issue a preliminary injunction to prohibit paying the benefits is scheduled for Nov. 7.

However, Levitt has scheduled a hearing for Nov. 1 to rule on a defendants’ motion to delay the injunction proceeding until a similar case in Delaware is decided.