VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Feb. 16, 2010) - NovaGold Resources Inc. (TSX:NG)(NYSE Amex:NG) today announced that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding to settle outstanding securities class action lawsuits in both the United States and Canada, in which NovaGold and certain of its directors and officers were named as defendants.

On December 22, 2008, a consolidated class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York consolidating similar complaints of violations of U.S. Securities laws. On October 14, 2009, a similar notice of action was filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Canada and on October 28, 2009, the same parties were named as defendants in a class action lawsuit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. All three actions alleged misrepresentations, misstatements and omissions in various public statements and filings concerning NovaGold's Galore Creek Property.

The settlement will be covered by NovaGold's insurance, and the Company does not anticipate having to pay out any of its cash under the terms of the settlement. The memorandum of understanding is subject to agreement on formal documentation and both U.S. and Canadian court approval after public notice.

Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, President and CEO of NovaGold said, "We are pleased to have settled these proceedings. While we believe we ultimately would have been successful in defending the allegations, this settlement allows us to focus 100% of our attention on executing our business plan: advancing our world-class properties to production and growing our company by exploring and developing new opportunities."

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