LVMH has always insisted it would do nothing to harass Gucci, so as not to jeopardize the value of its Gucci stake. Yet LVMH has three other legal challenges pending in the Netherlands, one demanding annulment of the Pinault deal and another seeking damages or a court order requiring that Pinault bid for all Gucci shares. A third case seeks the annulment of decisions taken at a Gucci shareholder meeting last year approving the Pinault deal. Both companies claimed victory. LVMH, in its statement, said that if fresh hearings led to a cancellation of the Pinault deal, it would seek a solution ''in the interest of all shareholders that would enable Gucci to continue to execute its strategy, while remaining entirely independent.'' It did not elaborate. Serge Weinberg, Pinault's chief executive, said that nothing in today's decision ''posed an obstacle to the pursuit of the development of the Gucci group; we are extremely confident.''