The $265 million shareholder settlement with coal producer Massey Energy Co. came after the U.S. attorney’s office in West Virginia, citing its criminal investigation into the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster, intervened to halt discovery in the civil case.

The cash settlement, announced on Tuesday, resolves claims by thousands of shareholders that Massey’s directors and officers, including former chief executive officer Don Blankenship, misrepresented the company’s safety practices.