The settlement concerning Adelphia's alleged accounting fraud has so far won partial approval.
U.S. District Judge Leonard Sand on Wednesday granted his OK for the settlement deal. Sand is one of the three judges whose blessing is required for the settlement. Approvals from a federal bankruptcy court and another federal judge are pending.
Adelphia's founder John Rigas and his sons have agreed to forfeit more than $1.5 billion in assets as part of a deal struck with the Justice Department. The settlement money would be used to compensate investors who lost billions of dollars when the company's accounting fraud was discovered.
The Rigas family lost control of Adelphia when financial irregularities were found by authorities. Since then, the company went into bankruptcy proceedings, and is presently being sold to Comcast and Time Warner Cable.
