The Delaware Court of Chancery has dismissed a derivative suit accusing Investors Bancorp Inc. directors of giving themselves a “grossly excessive” compensation hike following the firm's mutual-to-stock public offering.

The decision, published late Wednesday, upheld the directors' stockholder ratification defense and applied the court's deferential business judgment rule, finding that the pay package fell within the scope of a plan shareholders supported in a 2015 vote.

The ruling was a blow to plaintiffs Robert Elburn and Dieter Soehnel—and their team of attorneys from Smith, Katzenstein & Jenkins and Purcell Julie & Lefkowitz—who accused board members of breaching their fiduciary duties by granting themselves tens of millions of dollars in restricted stock and stock options.