On Wednesday, steelmaker Steel Dynamics will pay a $10 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit filed by a group of investors.
The plaintiffs allege that Steel Dynamics failed to disclose risks associated with its metal-intensive processes to investors and the public.
Steel Dynamics said in a statement the settlement includes “significant” penalties and disgorgement of assets.
The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon.
“We believe that Steel’s practices are appropriate and necessary for the continued health and vitality of the steel industry,” Steel Dynamics CEO Michael Cuczma said in the statement.
The company has faced some of the most aggressive class action lawsuits in recent years.
The settlement comes as Steel Dynamics grapples with another class action case that was filed by its employees last year.
The class action claims Steel Dynamics, which makes the XTR, had not disclosed to its employees the risks associated of metal-based infusions that it uses to make its steel, which is used in steel construction.
The lawsuit claims that steelmakers are responsible for the health risks posed by these processes, which include the use of chemicals that can cause cancers and other illnesses.
The $10m settlement will go to the employees who filed the lawsuit.
Steel also agreed to settle a separate class action suit that it filed in February that alleged that its steel-cutting processes are not “safe, reliable, or cost-effective” and were not safe or effective for the steel supply chain.
The steel industry is in turmoil.
In the first quarter of 2016, demand for steel plunged by 12.9% compared with the same period in 2015, according to a Reuters poll.
The slump has sparked a wave of bankruptcies and lawsuits, which have cost the steel companies millions in fines and penalties.
