FCA settled a key lawsuit out of court.

Following nearly nine months of trial and jury deliberations, Financial Corp. of America said it has settled its long-running, bitterly fought litigation with Northern California developer Dudley G. Kirkpatrick. Under terms of the settlement, FCA has agreed to pay the developer $500,000 and deed him a $160,000 home that he once owned. The settlement came after several weeks of deliberations by a jury that was unable to reach a verdict. Kirkpatrick’s suit, the first of its kind to go to trial, was one of dozens filed by developers in the early 1980s over FCA’s controversial lending practices known as buy-sell agreements. FCA is the parent firm of American Savings & Loan, the nation’s largest S&L.;