MARIETTA, Ga. - A utility firm in suburban Atlanta must pay $98 million to its members as part of a settlement of a class-action lawsuit.

The agreement involving Cobb Electric Membership Corp. comes after four years of legal battles. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit had accused the utility of withholding millions of dollars from customers.

The Marietta Daily Journal reports ( that Cobb County Superior Court Judge Stephen Schuster signed off on the $98 million settlement on Tuesday.

Cobb EMC is a nonprofit owned by its 175,000 customers -- also referred to as members -- and was accused of failing to return excess revenues to them. An estimated 900,000 customers are now owed money as part of the settlement.