Liz Claiborne Inc on Thursday won the dismissal of a shareholder lawsuit accusing the clothing designer of fraudulently misrepresenting its relationships with department store chains Macy's Inc and J.C. Penney Co , causing its stock to fall.

U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell said the investors failed to show that Liz Claiborne intended to mislead them about the relationships.

The class period ran from January 16 to April 30, 2007, the day before Liz Claiborne reported much lower-than-expected profit and sales at department store chains.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Gary Hill)

Lawsuit