Seagate Technology Inc says it has settled its dispute with UK- based computer manufacturer Amstrad Plc once and for all. As a result of the settlement, both parties have withdrawn their appeals and ended all litigation between them. The long-running battle began when Amstrad accused the US company of supplying it with faulty disk drives for its PC2386 computers in 1988, resulting in poor sales of the machines irreparable damage to its reputation. Each side had lodged an appeal of an earlier judgment awarding Amstrad about $150m (89.1m pounds) – handed down by a British court in July. But, as both companies grew weary of the drawn-out legal process, Seagate says that it managed to hammer out a deal with Amstrad whereby its appeal would be abandoned in return for a $22m reduction of the initial judgment. The settlement effectively creates a $22m credit against the $153 million charge stemming from the litigation already recorded in Seagate’s fourth-quarter 1997 financial results. The reduction in the settlement cost will be reflected in the company’s results for the quarter ending January, 1998.
