According to the latest docket, the case later partially settled against two individual defendants for $2,350,000. The Final Judgment and Order of Partial Dismissal was entered on June, 29, 1999. Lastly, the case settled with defendant KPMG LLP for $40,500,000. The Final Order and Dismissal was entered on July 13, 2000.

By the order dated February 22, 1999, the District Court approved a partial settlement (the “December Settlement”) of this Action between the members of the Class and Defendants herein, with the exception of the Settling Defendants (Two individual defendants) and KPMG, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and Rule 7023 of the Federal Bankruptcy Rules. A summary of the terms of the December Settlement is set forth in a Notice of Pendency of Class Action, Proposed Partial Settlement of Class Action, and Settlement Hearing, which was mailed to members of the Class on or about January 8, 1999. Among other things, the December Settlement provided for the creation of a cash Settlement Fund for the benefit of the members of the Class with an aggregate value of Twenty-Eight Million Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($28,250,000). This global settlement includes: the Federal Class Claimants, the State Class Claimants, the Holder Claimants, and the ERISA Claimants.

As reported in the firm's 10-Q dated May 17, 1999, on July 15, 1998, the Company filed a voluntary petition (the "Voluntary Case") in the United States Bankruptcy Court (the "Court") for the Northern District of Illinois for relief under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code. The Company's Second Amended Plan of Reorganization (the "Plan") was confirmed by order of the Court on March 10, 1999. The effective date of the Plan was March 23, 1999. The Plan provides that the Company to transfer to a certain trust established under the Plan (the "Liquidating Trust"), (i) $5 million in cash, (ii) the Company's claims against KPMG Peat Marwick and (iii) $250,000 in cash for fees and costs to be incurred in connection with the Liquidating Trust. The Plan also provides for holders of Securities Fraud Claims to receive a share of the beneficial interests in the Liquidating Trust in complete settlement, satisfaction and discharge of their claims. All of these costs have been fully provided for as March 31, 1999.

The original complaint alleges that defendants violated the federal securities laws by issuing to the investing public false and misleading statements regarding Mercury's operations, earnings, financial statements and future prospects. The complaint charges that, as a result of these misrepresentations, Mercury's common stock price was artificially inflated during the Class Period. The complaint alleges that defendants participated in a scheme to artificially inflate Mercury's common stock price in order to allow them to obtain substantial performance bonuses and to sell 575,000 shares of their personal Mercury common stock holdings, reaping proceeds of over $7.4 million.

According to the docket 97-CV-00624, on May 19, 1997, the case was included in the consolidated pre-trial proceeding in 97-CV-3035.