45 minutes ago
By The Canadian Press
ADVERTISEMENT LONGUEUIL, Que. - Bear Lake Gold Ltd. (TSXV:BLG) announced Monday it has reached an agreement in principle to settle a class action started in Ontario against the company, its directors and a number of current and former officers.
Financial terms of the proposed settlement were not disclosed. However, the company said in a news release that it is to be funded "primarily through directors and officers insurance coverage, with a contribution from the company."
The settlement agreement provides for dismissal of all claims against the company and the individual proposed defendants other than the company's former vice-president for exploration, Bernard Boily.
"It is currently anticipated that a settlement including Mr. Bernard Boily will be reached by April 9, 2010," the news release said.
Trading in the company's stock had been halted on the TSX Venture market pending the announcement.
The proposed class action had not yet received court approval and the claims in it remained unproven, the company said, adding that "the proposed settlement does not, and will not, constitute any admission of liability by the company or its officers, directors or employees."
A London, Ont.,-based law firm had filed the proposed suit against Bear Lake last summer alleging "serious material inconsistencies in its exploration data."
Dimitri Lascaris, a partner at Siskinds LLP, said last August that the suit would seek damages for investors after Bear Lake's admitted it was aware of the inconsistencies in its data relating to its flagship Larder Lake gold mining project.
Bear Lake issued a statement July 24 stating it had suspended all operations at its Larder Lake property while it investigated the inconsistencies regarding its exploration data.
"It appears that the data inconsistencies are of a serious nature and the company believes that the reporting of corrected assay results could result in significant reductions of gold values for some of the previously announced drilling intercepts," the July statement said.
Lascaris said then that the inaccuracy of data provided by companies listed on the TSX Venture Exchange has been a long-standing problem and did not appear to be getting better. |