A federal judge has approved a $1.4 million class-action settlement between Kentucky landowners and Sprint Communication, which laid fiber-optic cable on railroad rights of way on their property.
U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell set a fairness hearing in the case for June 18 at the federal court in Louisville. Attorneys in the case will receive $565,000.
The settlement stems from a suit filed in June in federal court in Louisville by multiple landowners accusing Sprint and Qwest Communications of trespassing on their property, digging up the ground and putting the cables in without permission.
The settlement, approved Friday, is similar to deals reached in 46 states where landowners sued Sprint over access to rights of way. Other settlements ranged from $3.1 million in Wisconsin to $5.4 million in Pennsylvania.
