Court approves $60M settlement by Buchanan Ingersoll

A federal bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved a settlement in which a Downtown law firm agreed to pay $60 million to a recovery trust as a result of its representation of the bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp.

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney will pay $20 million to the Adelphia Recovery Trust, which is pursuing claims on behalf of creditors in bankruptcy court. The remaining $40 million is to be divided between the trust and investors who brought separate lawsuits.

Buchanan Ingersoll spokeswoman Tracie Gliozzi could not be reached for comment. In the days after the June 22 agreement, she said in an e-mail:

“Agreeing to settle the matter allows us to focus on our clients and our goals. We are pleased to put this behind us.”

Buchanan Ingersoll, the primary legal counsel to Adelphia, was one of several advisers and banks that were engulfed in litigation after the failure of Adelphia, which filed for bankruptcy in 2002 amid an accounting scandal.

Several lawsuits accused the firm of assisting in the preparation and dissemination of false and misleading information about Adelphia to investors.

The Adelphia Recovery Trust collected a $167.5 million settlement from Deloitte & Touche in 2007, and more than 20 banks agreed to a $175 million settlement in 2010.

Wire reports contributed. Chris Togneri is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5632 or ctogneri@tribweb.com.