Clifton Savings Bancorp Inc. in New Jersey has announced that the state's supreme court has ruled in its favor in a case brought by the activist investor Lawrence B. Seidman.
Mr. Seidman filed a petition for certification of judgment with the supreme court after the appellate division of the Superior Court of New Jersey rejected his appeal of the Department of Banking and Insurance's decision to deny his request for a hearing.
He wanted the department to consider whether the $776 million-asset company's Clifton Savings Bank should be required to mail its members a letter from him that included the names of two people he wanted to nominate to its board.
The supreme court denied his petition May 11, Clifton Savings said Wednesday.
Mr. Seidman, who has been trying to get two candidates on the board since December 2003, said in an interview Thursday that he would not give up that fight. "I'm going to continue to press my point. … [The decision] doesn't change my approach one iota."
John A. Celentano Jr., Clifton Savings Bancorp's chairman and chief executive, said he hoped the denial would deter Mr. Seidman from future litigation.
