KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? Sprint Corp. and shareholders who sued the firm over its failed merger with WorldCom Inc. have entered into settlement talks after a judge dismissed many of the plaintiff’s claims.

The plaintiffs and Sprint asked a federal judge this week to freeze proceedings in three of the lawsuits.

The motion followed a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia dismissing many, but not all, of the securities fraud claims brought by the plaintiffs.

The motion asked Murguia to halt further proceedings until Dec. 2, which the parties said “should provide them with adequate time to determine whether a settlement is feasible.”

At least four lawsuits have been filed against Overland Park-based Sprint over the $129 billion WorldCom deal, which would have been the largest merger in U.S. history at the time it was announced in late 1999. The firms abandoned their agreement in mid-2000.