Conn. Court Reinstates Shareholder Suit

A Connecticut court reinstated a shareholder lawsuit intended as a class action against Glastonbury Bank and Trust after concluding that its reasoning in rejecting the suit had been mistaken.

In early July, Hartford Superior Court threw out a suit filed by M. Merriam March that accused bank officials and directors of breaching their fiduciary duty by rejecting a $16-per-share buyout offer from Fleet Financial Group in 1994.

The court had initially ruled that Ms. March lacked standing to sue because the fact her Glastonbury stock was held on her behalf in an account at Advest, not directly by her, disqualified her as a shareholder. The court reconsidered the case at the plaintiff's request and reversed itself, concluding that it had used the wrong case law earlier.

J. Gilbert Soucie, president and chief executive of Glastonbury Bank, said he had not seen the documents and could not comment.

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