May Department Stores defeats plaintiff's motion for class certification and obtains dismissal of shareholder litigation

Client(s) Macy's, Inc.

Jones Day represented May Department Stores Company and its former directors in a lawsuit (class certification denied) attacking the 2005 merger between Federated Department Stores (now known as Macy's Inc.) and May Department Stores.

The plaintiff alleged that the terms of the merger were unfair to the former holders of May shares, and that the merger proxy disclosures were incomplete and misleading. On June 30, 2009, a Missouri court denied plaintiff's motion for class certification on the grounds that the plaintiff was an inadequate class representative and that the requirements for certification of a non-opt-out class had not been met. After the court denied the class certification motion, the parties stipulated to a dismissal of the lawsuit with prejudice.

DeCristafaro v. May Department Stores Company, No. 064-265 (St. Louis Cty., MO)