NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) June 23, 2004-- The announcement that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has issued a ruling on class certification in the sex-discrimination case against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (AA/Stable/A-1+) has no current impact on the credit rating or outlook. Wal-Mart plans to appeal the ruling and may be able to de-certify the class claims. Although the class certification has no bearing on the merits of the claims, protracted litigation may require considerable management attention, negatively affect Wal-Mart's public image, and expose the company to the uncertainty of a court judgement. On the other hand, Wal-Mart may choose to settle the case, and given the 1.6 million potential size of the litigation group,
