SW Gas merger figure settles lawsuit

Monday, Dec. 16, 2002 | 10:55 a.m.

Southern Union Co. of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., said Saturday that it settled with one of the remaining two defendants in its lawsuit over its failed attempt to buy Southwest Gas Corp. of Las Vegas in 1999.

Southern Union said Jack Rose, former executive secretary to the Arizona Corporation Commission and Commissioner James Irvin's former personal advisor, will pay Southern Union $75,000 and has signed an agreement expressing his regrets over the events surrounding the failed merger.

Trial has been under way for a month in Southern Union's lawsuit against Rose and Irvin.

Southern Union is pressing its case against Irvin. Southern Union is alleging "tortious interference" by Irvin caused Southwest Gas to reject Southern Union's $1.88 billion takeover bid in favor of a $1.8 billion bid by ONEOK Inc. of Tulsa, Okla.

Southwest's merger agreement with ONEOK later collapsed.

In the aftermath, Southwest paid $17.5 million to Southern Union to settle Southern Union's claims of wrongdoing and ONEOK paid Southwest Gas $3 million. A deal between Southern Union and ONEOK to settle Southern Union's claims is pending, the Capitol Media Service in Phoenix reported.

With Rose now out of the picture, Southern Union's case against Irvin is expected to go to a federal jury in Phoenix on Tuesday. Southern Union is seeking punitive damages against Irvin, who denies wrongdoing and was re-elected last month to a four-year seat on the regulatory board.

Southwest Gas serves some 800,000 Arizona customers.

Southern Union said it will donate the proceeds from the Rose settlement to St. Joseph's Hospital of Phoenix for the benefit of its Children's Rehab Department.

George Lindemann, Southern Union's chairman and CEO, said Southern Union believes Rose sincerely regrets his involvement with Irvin.

Capitol Media Service reported that in the settlement with Southern Union, Rose does not concede that he intentionally interfered with efforts by Southern Union to buy Southwest Gas.

But Rose said he "regrets the events that transpired in relationship to the proposed Southwest Gas Corp. merger." Rose also agreed never to claim that Southern Union's lawsuit lacked merit.

Irvin has claimed throughout the trial that his actions, including writing to and calling the Southwest board about the merger, were all done for legitimate purposes, Phoenix news services reported. Southern Union claims that these actions by Irvin were wrong and contributed to the failure of its takeover bid.

The deal may not end Rose's legal problems, Capitol Media reported.

Federal and Maricopa County prosecutors in Phoenix are looking into the activities of Irvin and Rose to see if any criminal laws were broken.

Rose, aware of the inquiry, refused to answer virtually any question during the trial about his activities with Irvin and his own outside contracts, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, Capitol Media reported.