Shareholder proposal rule
Class Action Trends – Interview with Stephen Gulotta, Managing Member, Mintz Levin's New York Office
The Delaware Court of Chancery has denied a preliminary, mandatory injunction motion to compel Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. ("Ocean Power") to permit one of its stockholders' nominees to stand for election at the next...more
With the 2023 proxy season now over for most companies, we took a fresh look at recent bylaw and charter amendments at the Silicon Valley 150 (the SV150) to better understand how companies are addressing i) new Rule 14a-19,...more
Earlier this year the United States Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and Ninth Circuits each addressed the question of whether an exclusive forum provision adopted by a Delaware company and requiring derivative litigation...more
The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a shareholder derivative action in light of an exclusive-forum bylaw requiring assertion of derivative claims in the Delaware Court of Chancery, even though...more
The Seventh Circuit issued a resounding message: Delaware forum selection clauses in corporate bylaws cannot lawfully prevent a plaintiff from bringing claims under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act or the...more
A recent ruling by the Seventh Circuit in Seafarers Pension Plan v. Bradway addresses the issue of where shareholder derivative lawsuits may be filed when the company at issue has a forum selection clause in its bylaws. The...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved mandatory “universal proxy” on November 17, 2021. The final rules will apply to contested director elections at shareholder meetings held after August 31, 2022. The...more
As COVID-19 rages on, companies are again flocking to virtual annual meetings for the 2021 proxy season, but with one important difference: the luxury of time. Many companies are already exploring retention of virtual annual...more
With annual reports on Form 10-K publicly filed and first quarter earnings releases getting underway, proxy season – the annual practice of filing and distributing proxy statements, reserving meeting venues and courting...more
The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is impacting every aspect of doing business, and annual meetings of shareholders are no exception. Each corporation is required by state corporation law, and usually its own bylaws, to hold...more
As social distancing policies and mandates continue to take hold across the country, companies are grappling to understand the implications of these measures on their business. One compliance issue to resolve is that...more
In response to developments related to COVID-19, the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued new guidance (available here) to assist public companies, investment companies, shareholders, and other market participants...more
I live and work in the Seattle area. As a result of COVID-19, school districts are now closed for 6 weeks, Seattle public libraries are closed for a month, a number of restaurants have closed for the time being and my beloved...more
In a previous blog post, we discussed the availability of virtual shareholder meetings (i.e., “virtual-only” and “hybrid” meetings) as a potential alternative to the traditional in-person meeting during the 2020 proxy season...more
April, May and June are typically the most popular months for public companies to host their annual meetings of shareholders. This year, the unprecedented public health concern resulting from the coronavirus or COVID-19...more
Across the globe, the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is causing governments, companies, associations and colleges and universities to take unprecedented steps to address the spread and transmission of COVID-19. These steps...more
The Background: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("the SEC") has announced that it may no longer review no-action letter requests relating to shareholder proposals submitted to companies under Rule 14a-8. The SEC...more
On February 11, 2019, the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance granted no-action relief permitting Johnson & Johnson to omit a a shareholder proposal from its proxy statement relating to mandatory arbitration of...more
ISS announced updates to its policies for next year. Like Glass Lewis a month ago, ISS is also—shall we say “unfriendly”— to boards of companies that submit to shareholders a charter or bylaw ratification proposal while...more
ISS has updated its frequently asked questions on U.S. Proxy Voting Research Procedures & Policies (Excluding Compensation-Related). New and updated questions include...more
The following are some important reminders and updates for the 2017 proxy season. Say-When-on-Pay - Required Vote in 2017 - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires companies to conduct a...more
As Ralph Waldo Emerson once famously told Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: ““Holmes, when you strike at a king, you must kill him.” For the full story, see The Corporations Code Can Make Suing Your Former Employees Costly. I was...more
Proxy access, meaning the ability of stockholders to put their nominees on management’s proxy card and create a proxy contest without having to file their own proxy statement, was the marquee issue of the 2015 proxy season....more
Advance notice bylaws, requiring stockholders to give a corporation timely notice of their nominees to the board before a stockholder meeting for the election of directors, are a proper corporate governance tool. The purpose...more
It's difficult to discern “trends” from reactions to date on proxy access proposals, but here are some data points: Three companies, including two on the NY Comptroller’s 75-company target list have adopted...more