Lawyers have claimed that they are looking out for shareholders, but one national banking analysts told the Michigan Live web site that law firms often ‘sniff around’ for lawsuits when such a large transaction is made, but nothing may come of the investigations.

Fiduciary duties

So far, Philadelphia’s Ryan & Maniskas, Californian firms Robbins Umeda and Weiss Law and New York trio Levi & Korsinsky , Newman Ferrara and Harwood Feffer are all separately investigating potential claims against the board of directors of Michigan-based Citizens, concerning whether the board fulfilled its fiduciary duties and acted in the best interest of its shareholders. According to the report, each firm has sent out its own press release detailing its intentions.
The firms say they will look into concerns regarding whether Citizens maximised the value of the company and obtained full and fair deal for the company’s shareholders.

Best deal

Robbins Umeda partner Steve Oddo said: ‘I've been doing this for 12 years and it's the only type of litigation I handle… We typically look out for shareholders in a lot of different processes. (With this sale) we’re a little concerned that the shareholders are not getting the best deal possible, and this is all based on public record. The thing that strikes me about the case is that the value (FirstMerit's) stock is dwindling on a daily basis.’
Representatives for both Citizens and FirstMerit said they do not to comment on pending litigation. However, in a joint statement following the sale’s announcement, Citizens President and chief executive Cathy Nash said the shareholders will be rewarded by the transaction.