STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — A court yesterday rejected a claim for damages by DaimlerChrysler AG shareholders who said the company did not announce in proper time that former chief executive Juergen Schrempp planned to step down.The Stuttgart state court ruled that the July 2005 announcement had been made in a timely way.

It found that the company had no obligation to announce Schrempp’s departure before its supervisory board made a formal decision, and was not obliged to announce earlier that discussions had taken place on a possible changeover.

Schrempp was replaced as CEO by Dieter Zetsche.

News of Schrempp’s departure sent the stock up 10 percent, dismaying investors who had sold shares in the preceding days.

Steffen Nolte, an official with DaimlerChrysler’s legal department, welcomed the ruling. He said plaintiffs were seeking about [EURO]6.5 million ($8.5 million) in damages.

Felix Weigend, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said they would take their case to Germany’s Federal Court of Justice. He criticised the court’s failure to hear evidence in the case.

DaimlerChrysler shares, which have been lifted by speculation that the automaker could ultimately part company with its troubled U.S. Chrysler unit, were up 3.73 percent to close at [EURO]53.42 ($69.83) in Frankfurt trading.