Abbott Labs Leaders, Shareholders Settle Infant Formula Suit (2)

Abbott Laboratories will invest $40 million over five years into its highly-scrutinized Michigan plant to resolve stockholder allegations against executives and board members over its infant formula safety.

The derivative settlement seeks to ensure Abbott maintains sanitation and environmental monitoring programs in line with the health-care company’s food safety principles across all of its US powdered infant formula facilities, shareholders said in a proposed brief to the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. All $40 million at the Sturgis, Mich., plant will be spent on “core operations, food safety, or quality assurance.”

The investors Tuesday sought preliminary ...