Lawyers for the Norfolk Pension Fund, which is run by Norfolk County Council, secured an £86.4m settlement after a lawsuit launched against Texas-based energy company Anadarko Petroleum.

The pension fund, which contains the retirement savings of some 109,000 people across Norfolk who work or used to work in local government, had bought stock in the company between February 2015 and May 2017.

But the value of stocks fell and the lawsuit alleged Anadarko Petroleum had made false or misleading statements around an oil field the company had discovered.

It also claimed it failed to disclose material facts about its business and operations.

The company did not accept liability, but an out-of-court settlement was agreed.

The latest success for the pension fund followed two previous significant victories, including against tech giant Apple.

In 2024, Apple agreed, after years of litigation, to pay more than £380m to claimants, including Norfolk Pension Fund.

That lawsuit alleged Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook misled investors about iPhone sales in China between November 2018 and January the following year.

The class action – made on behalf of a group of claimants including investors in Apple – was led by County Hall, which said the Norfolk Pension Fund was affected by the company’s alleged actions.

Apple had denied, and continues to deny, that Mr Cook misled investors, but accepted a mediator’s proposal to settle the claim “in recognition that further litigation will be protracted, overly burdensome, expensive and distracting”.

In 2019, a jury in Santa Ana, California found Puma Biotechnology, which the pension fund had bought shares in between July 2014 and May 2015, had committed securities fraud.

The company agreed a £41m post-trial settlement with the pension fund, which was the lead plaintiff in the case.

Glenn Cossey, director of the Norfolk Pension Fund, said: “Our job is to look after the pension savings of more than 100,000 members across Norfolk.

“When we believe investors have lost money because a company has provided misleading information, we have a responsibility to take action to help recover those losses.

“By playing a leading role in these cases, Norfolk Pension Fund has helped secure £498m in recoveries for affected investors across the three cases.

“Those recoveries are shared among eligible investors, including Norfolk Pension Fund.

“The settlement is a positive outcome and helps protect the value of the investments that support members’ pensions.”

Those in the pension fund include former and current staff at county, district and parish councils and non-teaching staff in academies and colleges.

More than 400 employers allow their employees to join the fund.