Clifton Savings Bancorp Inc. in New Jersey said that three of the four claims of corporate waste brought against it in 2004 by the activist shareholder Lawrence Seidman have been dismissed.
The $792 million-asset Clifton said late Monday that on Oct. 31 the chancery division of the New Jersey Superior Court ruled that the salary and benefits paid to Clifton Savings' chairman and chief executive officer, John A. Celentano Jr., did not constitute corporate waste.
It also ruled that the allocation of benefits under the company's equity incentive plan were consistent with industry practices, and that Clifton directors' retirement plan did not constitute corporate waste, the company said.
However, the court agreed with Mr. Seidman's claim that services provided by a former Clifton director, Frank Hahofer, duplicated the services of a licensed appraiser.
The court ordered Mr. Hahofer to reimburse Clifton the $92,000 in consulting fees it paid him over the last six years.
