Shareholder proposal rule
Class Action Trends – Interview with Stephen Gulotta, Managing Member, Mintz Levin's New York Office
On November 2, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the adoption of amendments to Form N-PX and related rules to extend public company stockholder vote disclosure filing requirements beyond...more
For the upcoming 2024 proxy and annual reporting season, there are a number of key issues to consider and keep an eye on for further developments as preparations commence. This alert provides an overview of these issues and...more
On January 9, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a cease-and-desist order (the “Order”)1 charging McDonald’s Corporation (“McDonald’s”) and its ex-CEO, Stephen Easterbrook, with multiple disclosure...more
For many insiders at a newly formed public company, a large portion of their net worth is potentially tied up in holdings of their company’s publicly-traded shares. These insiders often face challenges obtaining liquidity...more
As public companies prepare their 2022 annual reports and 2023 proxy statements, they will need to contend with a host of new requirements and disclosure updates stemming from the current geopolitical and economic...more
On July 13, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rule changes that would make it harder for reporting companies to exclude shareholder proposals from their proxy statement by narrowing certain existing...more
On July 13, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed revisions to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to amend certain substantive bases on which U.S. public companies can exclude...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to Exchange Act Rule 14a-8, the shareholder proposal rule, which requires companies subject to the federal proxy rules to include shareholder proposals in their proxy...more
On November 3 the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued Staff Legal Bulletin 14L (SLB 14L) to provide new guidance on the application of the “ordinary business” and “economic relevance” exceptions to a public company’s...more
Climate-related issues have taken on an enhanced level of concern at the federal government level since the Biden administration rejoined the Paris Agreement in an effort to stem climate change impacts, and the administration...more
On November 3, 2021, the Division of Corporation Finance (“Corp Fin”) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released Shareholder Proposals: Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L(CF) (the “SLB”) to provide information for...more
When finalizing proxy materials for annual shareholder meetings, companies should consider the following Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules and related guidance, as well as stock exchange listing standards and...more
On September 23, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to the procedural requirements and resubmission thresholds relating to shareholder proposals submitted for inclusion in fund proxy...more
On September 23, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Exchange Act Rule 14a-8, also known as the “shareholder proposal rule.” The SEC press release announcing the adopted changes are...more
Rule 14a-8 requires public companies to include shareholder proposals in their own proxy statements, subject to certain procedural and substantive requirements. The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has adopted...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 23 adopted final rules amending the shareholder proposal rules in Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The final rules: - Require that a shareholder...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a 3-2 vote on Wednesday, September 23, 2020, adopted amendments to the eligibility requirements for submitting shareholder proposals to be included in a public company issuer’s...more
Background: Rule 14a-8 provides the mechanism by which shareholders may submit proposals to companies for inclusion in the annual proxy statement to be voted upon by shareholders. On September 23, 2020, the U.S. Securities...more
On September 23, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to the procedural requirements and resubmission thresholds relating to shareholder proposals submitted for inclusion in company proxy...more
The coronavirus pandemic has created an unprecedented and rapidly evolving situation federal agencies are scrambling to keep up with. Our Securities Group examines the Securities and Exchange Commission’s continued efforts to...more
The Situation: Late last year, a shareholder sued NorthWestern Corporation ("NWE") to compel the company to include a climate-change related proposal in its 2020 proxy materials after NWE had notified the staff of the...more
With many year-end companies working on initial drafts of their 2020 proxy statements, we thought it might be worth sending a quick reminder of two recent rule changes – briefly summarized below – that will (modestly) impact...more
Caremark Developments -- Do You Know What You Don’t Know? In 1996, the Delaware courts created what has become known as a Caremark claim: an allegation that directors failed to exercise oversight of the organization....more
On November 5, 2019, the SEC issued a release proposing amendments to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which is the rule that governs the process through which shareholders may submit proposals to be...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued several important recent updates regarding shareholder proposals and the related no-action request process for companies to consider ahead of the 2019-2020 proxy...more