SPRINGFIELD, MO. ? An Ozarks man who provides motorcycle escorts for funeral processions has settled a lawsuit with a Kansas-based phone book company that published his business number under the heading “escort services,” leading to late-night calls from people wanting female company rather than a ride.

Larry Perkins, 57, started Ozark Motorcycle Escort about 2 1/2 years ago, basing the business out of his Highlandville home.

But in the current Names and Numbers directories for Springfield and Branson – published in December 2004 – Perkins’ business is misidentified as “Ozark Escort” and grouped with companion-for-hire services sometimes considered fronts for prostitution. Most of the people who have called Perkins’ number since were seeking companions of the carnal sort.

Perkins’ Springfield attorney, Joseph Wantuck, sent a letter to Pittsburg, Kan.-based K.W. Brock Directories Inc. – the parent company of Names and Numbers – in May lamenting his client’s misfortune and offering to settle the matter for $150,000.

Perkins’ lawsuit was moved to U.S. District Court in early September. Also that month, an attorney for K.W. Brock Directories formally denied any wrongdoing and demanded a jury trial.

Instead, the court assigned a Springfield attorney to mediate the legal dispute. The parties reached a settlement a short time later, but the terms are confidential, Wantuck said.