MILAN (Reuters) - A Milan court has thrown out a 1.8 billion euros (1.58 billion pounds) claim by Italy's Parmalat (>> Parmalat SpA) against Citigroup (>> Citigroup), the U.S. bank said on Wednesday, in a case relating to the dairy group's 2003 collapse.

"The Court of Milan has granted Citigroup's motion to dismiss in its entirety a civil claim for 1.8 billion euros," the U.S. bank said in a statement.

Citi said the court had ruled the claim duplicated one already brought in 2008 by a court in New Jersey which was dismissed as "unmeritorious", adding it should not be allowed to proceed in the Italian courts.

Parmalat said in a statement it considered the Milan court's decision "mistaken and unfair", adding it would appeal.

The Italian dairy group was relaunched in 2005 after going bankrupt following a financial scandal two years earlier. It was taken over by France’s Lactalis in 2011.

When Lactalis last year launched a bid for the Parmalat shares it did not own, minority shareholders said the price offered was too low, in part because of the potential cash-in from the lawsuit.

Citigroup was advised by law firm Clifford & Chance.

(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; editing by Stephen Jewkes and Alexander Smith)

Stocks treated in this article : Citigroup, Parmalat SpA