KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Two judges on Tuesday approved a $50 million settlement between Sprint Corp. and shareholders who sued over its derailed merger with WorldCom Inc.

U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia ruled the settlement was "fair, reasonable and adequate" in a hearing Tuesday morning. Jackson County, Mo., Circuit Judge Charles Atwell also approved the deal in a hearing Tuesday afternoon, Sprint spokeswoman Jennifer Bosshardt said.

The agreement covers shareholders who bought Sprint stock between October 1999 and September 2000 and suffered a loss as a result.

"We're happy to get this behind us," Bosshardt said.

Keith F. Park, an attorney for the plaintiff shareholders, told Murguia that none of the plaintiffs opposed the settlement, which he called "extremely rare."

"You have before you incontrovertible support," Park told the judge.

At the request of the plaintiffs' attorneys, Murguia also dismissed the case against WorldCom, now known as MCI, and its ex-CEO Bernard Ebbers.

Christina M. Tchen, an attorney for Sprint, said the company, based in Overland Park, Kan., continues to deny the allegations in the lawsuit but agreed to settle the case to avoid the cost of a trial.

As part of the deal, the telecommunications company has increased the number of independent directors on its board, set term limits and appointed a lead independent director. Other internal controls include eliminating three-year staggered terms on the board and requiring members to seek re-election each year.

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The two lawsuits were among several filed against Sprint over the scuttled $129 billion deal with WorldCom, which filed for bankruptcy in July 2002 after revealing it had fabricated billions in profits. The Jackson County lawsuit alleged violations of state law, while the federal court action alleged violations of federal securities laws.

That merger would have been the nation's largest at the time it was announced in late 1999. But the companies scrapped their agreement in 2000 after U.S. and European regulators said they would oppose the deal on antitrust grounds.

The lawsuits have alleged that Sprint officials misled shareholders by recommending approval of the merger when the officials knew regulatory opposition probably would prevent its consummation. The lawsuits also alleged that the officials did so because they wanted to trigger the early vesting of $1.7 billion in insider stock options.

In trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange, Sprint's FON shares closed up 11 cents at $15.11, while its PCS shares closed up 15 cents at $4.72.

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