Knight Trading Settles One Lawsuit, Another Dismissed

Knight Trading Group (NITE Quote) agreed to settle one lawsuit and said that a second suit against the company had been dismissed.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Knight said the first of the two suits, Prager v. Knight Trading Group, alleged that the company had improperly traded securities for its own account before trading securities for broker/dealer clients. The suit was dismissed last July but appealed in August.

"To avoid the time and expense involved with the appeal, we have reached a mutually agreeable settlement with the plaintiff for an amount, not material to us, and plaintiff has dismissed the appeal with prejudice," Knight said in the filing.

Knight also said that on March 5, a U.S. District Court judge dismissed a suit, Patricia Murray et al v. Knight Trading Group, regarding statements allegedly made by company employees regarding projected earnings during the third quarter of 2000. The plaintiffs have 30 days from the date of the ruling to file an appeal.

Knight's shares have risen 16% since the beginning of the month, when they plunged on rumors the company's offices had been raided by the FBI. The company denied the rumors. Knight fell 17 cents to $7.97 Tuesday.