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Penn West Petroleum settles lawsuits from accounting mistakes

Penn West Petroleum has reached agreements to settle a number of lawsuits stemming from accounting errors discovered in 2014.

Payments will come from insurance so finances of Calgary-based company not affected

Penn West's new management team said in July 2014 it had discovered hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses had been improperly classified. (Penn West)
Penn West Petroleum has reached agreements tosettle a bevy of class-action lawsuits stemming from accounting
errors it discovered in 2014.

The settlement in the Canadian and U.S. cases will be fullyfunded by the company's insurance, meaning its cash resources andfinancial position won't take a hit.

In July 2014, Penn West's new management team said ithad discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses hadbeen improperly classified under the company's previous leadership.

The Calgary-based oil and gas producer was forced to restate itsfinancial reports for 2012-2013, and the first quarter of 2014.

Thestock plummeted by 14 per cent the day after that announcement.

"The settlement agreements contain no admission of liability orwrongdoing and include full releases of Penn West, current andformer directors and officers of Penn West and others," the companysaid in a release Tuesday.

"Penn West is settling the class action proceedings in order to avoid the continuing risks, uncertainties and costs of litigation."

The settlements are subject to court approval in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and New York.