LAS VEGAS (AP) — A settlement ended a 15-year breach-of-contract battle on Thursday between Las Vegas Sands Corp. and a Hong Kong businessman who helped the U.S. company open its first casino in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau.
Richard Suen, his lawyers and attorneys for Sands said the agreement prohibited them from disclosing terms of the settlement.
But Suen emerged from a Las Vegas courtroom telling The Associated Press that the battle he waged since 2004 was "worth it" for what he called "the sense of justice."
A judge informed jurors of the settlement and dismissed them ahead of a second day of videotaped testimony from ailing billionaire Sands chief Sheldon Adelson. The trial that started Wednesday had been expected to last until mid-April.
The company disclosed recently that Adelson, the 85-year-old board chairman, CEO and Republican national party donor is being treated for cancer and has not been at the company's Las Vegas offices for more than two months.
Sands attorney Richard Sauber told jurors the sides had reached "an amicable settlement and resolution."
Outside, Suen attorneys John O'Malley and James Jimmerson called it a fair end to the case.
They had argued that Suen and his company, Round Square Co., should get almost $347 million for introducing Adelson and Sands executives to key Chinese officials with influence to grant a coveted Macau gambling license.
Sauber countered in court on Wednesday with a $3.76 million figure, accusing Suen of abandoning Adelson and Sands to find other advice in 2001— long before the Sands Macau casino opened in 2004.
"Although the dollars are confidential, we're very pleased," O'Malley told AP. "This settlement completely resolves the litigation. There will be no more appeals."
Ron Reese, spokesman for publicly traded Sands, declined to comment.
It wasn't immediately clear if financial details would be reported to federal Securities and Exchange Commission regulators.
Company stock closed Thursday at $59.42.