March 4, 2026
Deloitte & Touche LLP‘s $34 million class settlement with Scana Corp. investors who sued to hold the auditor liable for nuclear reactor project losses is fair, a federal court said in granting final approval.
Judge Jacquelyn D. Austin of the US District Court for the District of South Carolina also approved a more than $6 million fee for the investors’ attorneys, one-third of the settlement amount. Austin’s orders Monday bring an end to the six-year-old litigation in which Deloitte sought review of class certification at the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and reached a settlement while the appeal was pending.
Laura Posner, who represents the investors and is a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, hailed the settlement as particularly important in the context of the Securities and Exchange Commission “scaling back” the power of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. The case, and its settlement, show “the power institutional investors wield in holding auditors accountable and safeguarding our capital markets,” she said.
“In addition to being one of the top five auditor settlements in the last decade and ever in the District of South Carolina, this case sets important legal precedent for establishing liability against auditors,” Posner said. “It is rare for auditor cases to withstand motions to dismiss, let alone achieve class certification.”
The case even went to a full briefing for summary judgment, she said.
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Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC is lead counsel for the investors. Milbank LLP and Moore & Van Allen PLLC represent Deloitte LLP and Deloitte & Touche.
Read Deloitte’s $34 Million Nuclear Investor Settlement Is Finalized.