J. C. Penney said Friday it has reached an agreement to settle a shareholder class action lawsuit for $97.5 million. The case stems from a period in 2013 when the Plano-based company was struggling to survive from a failed attempt to transform the department store.

The lawsuit, Alan B. Marcus, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, v. J.C. Penney Company, Inc., et.al., is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

The lawsuit alleged that Penney publicly assured investors that its business was improving and that it saw no need to raise capital. The statements made by former chief executive officer Mike Ullman and chief financial officer Ken Hannah in August and September 2013 misled investors regarding the company’s liquidity prior to the announcement of a public stock offering in September 2013, the lawsuit said.  Penney issued 84 million shares of stock and raised $800 million to get it through a cash crunch it found itself in after CEO Ron Johnson’s tenure. Ullman returned to lead Penney in April 2013.