Missouri class-action lawsuit over bonding for failed sweetener plant settled for $8.2 million

An investment banker and a St. Louis law firm are settling for up to $8.25 million in a lawsuit over bonding for a failed Missouri sweetener factory.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1Ce0QPF ) a settlement deal filed earlier this week will give investors back more than 80 percent of losses on the plant that never was built.

A class-action lawsuit claimed banker Morgan Keegan and law firm Armstrong Teasdale misled investors, who bought $39 million in bonds to construct a Mamtek artificial sweetener plant in Moberly.

The plant was touted as an economic boon for the north-central Missouri town until Mamtek defaulted on bond payments in 2011.

Morgan Keegan and Armstrong Teasdale denied wrongdoing in the settlement filing.