Blue Bell’s $60 Million Listeria Settlement Gets Court Approval

Ice-cream maker Blue Bell Creameries Inc.'s $60 million settlement with a shareholder over a 2015 listeria outbreak that killed three people gained the Delaware Chancery court’s approval, ending nearly three years of litigation.

Vice Chancellor Joseph R. Slights Monday also approved $9 million of attorneys’ fees for plaintiffs. The settlement, first announced in April, provides “a significant benefit” to company shareholders while avoiding a costly bankruptcy, he said.

Mary Giddings Wenske, who owned a stake in Blue Bell’s controlling partnership, filed the derivative lawsuit in 2017. She alleged that the Brenham, Texas-based ice cream maker ignored reports of unsanitary conditions ...