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.
