On July 10, 2002, the Court entered the Order and Final Judgment by Judge John W. Lungstrum. According to the Order and Final Judgment, on July 9, 2002, a hearing was held to determine (1) whether this action should be certified as a class action for the purposes of settlement; (2) whether the terms and conditions of the Stipulation of Settlement dated as of 7/22/02 are fair, reasonable and adequate; (3) whether judgment should be entered dismissing the complaint on the merits with prejudice in favor of the defendant and against all persons or entities who are members of the Class certified in the Preliminary Approval Order; (4) whether and in what amount to award attorneys' fees and (5) whether to approve the Plan of Allocation as a fair and reasonable method to allocate settlement proceeds; this action is certified as class action for the purposes of settlement only; the terms of the Stipulation and settlement are approved as fair and reasonable; this action is dismissed on the merits with prejudice, each party to bear his/its own costs, except as provided in the Stipulation.

In a press release dated February 4, 2002, Atchison Casting Corp. (FDY) agreed to settle the consolidated securities class action suit filed against it. In a press release Monday, the maker of iron, steel and non-ferrous castings said the settlement calls for the establishment of a $1.8 million settlement fund, to be paid by its insurance carrier. All claims relating to the suit will be dismissed without any admission of liability or wrongdoing. An Atchison spokesman said the lawsuit, which consolidated five shareholder lawsuits, alleged securities fraud.

The original complaint charges Atchison and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Atchison manufactures highly engineered metal castings and forgings that are used in a wide variety of products, including cars and trucks, and gas, steam and hydroelectric turbines. The complaint alleges that on Nov. 2 and 3, 2000, in a series of announcements, Atchison announced that: (i) the CFO of its Pennsylvania plant had been terminated; and (ii) it was conducting a formal investigation into its revenue recognition practices in order to determine whether certain overstatements of its revenues were done "deliberate[ly]." Then on Dec. 21, 2000, Atchison stated that its past 5 years of financial reports were false.