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Published September 24, 2009, 08:11 AM

Judge gives initial OK to settlement

A federal judge has given initial approval to a proposed settlement between AT&T and a southwestern North Dakota rancher who accused the telecommunications company of trampling private property rights because fiber optic cable had been buried in roadside ditches.

BISMARCK (AP) — A federal judge has given initial approval to a proposed settlement between AT&T and a southwestern North Dakota rancher who accused the telecommunications company of trampling private property rights because fiber optic cable had been buried in roadside ditches.

The settlement calls for affected property owners east of Dickinson to be paid 75 cents per foot of cable buried in roadway ditches. In return, AT&T would get easements allowing it to maintain cable in the ditches in an area about 11 miles long.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland has set a Nov. 30 deadline for potential participants in the class action settlement to “opt out” of the agreement and proceed with their own lawsuits. He also set a Dec. 21 hearing for a decision on final approval.

AT&T said it legally buried cable in North Dakota road ditches and does not acknowledge any liability or wrongdoing in the settlement.

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