Seagate to Pay $126 Million to Settle Suits

Seagate Technology Inc. will pay Amslit Ltd., a unit of Viglen Technology, $126 million to settle lawsuits that Seagate supplied the British company with faulty computer disk drives. Seagate executives dropped an appeal of a $145-million judgment won by the personal computer vendor after Amslit agreed to reduce the award. Amslit filed suit against Seagate in 1992 over disk drives shipped to Britain in 1988. Amslit officials said Seagate shipped poorly made drives to be included in low-cost personal computers. In its fiscal fourth quarter, Seagate took a $153-million charge related to the litigation. As a result of the reduced payment, Seagate will reverse $22 million of that charge in its second quarter ending Jan. 2. Viglen has a similar lawsuit against Western Digital Corp. awaiting trial, company officials said. The case is expected to be heard sometime early next year. Shares in Scotts Valley-based Seagate fell $1 to close at $27.81 on the NYSE.