Judge OKs Settlement in Sunbeam Suit

Former officials of Sunbeam Corp., a household appliance maker seeking bankruptcy protection, won a judge’s approval to pay $31 million to settle a federal class-action lawsuit with shareholders who alleged fraud.

After a hearing in West Palm Beach, Fla., U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks approved the settlement, to be paid in part by Sunbeam insurers.

In the lawsuit, filed in 1998, more than a dozen Sunbeam stockholders accused former Chief Executive Al Dunlap and former directors of artificially inflating revenue.

Shares of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sunbeam, which reported $2.39 billion in fiscal 1999 sales and a $299.5-million loss, fell less than 1 cent to 8 cents in over-the-counter trading.