Last week, 13 Republican state attorneys general published a letter to the largest companies in the country, creating confusion, uncertainty and risk for businesses that have sought to adopt diversity, equity and inclusion...more
A little over a year ago, I wrote that California Superior Court Judge Terry Green had found that AB 979 facially violates the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution, Cal. Const. Art. I, § 7. Crest v....more
On May 13, 2022, Judge Maureen Duffy Lewis of the Superior Court of the State of California for Los Angeles County entered judgement in favor of three taxpayers bringing state constitutional challenges to S.B. 826, a bill for...more
On May 13, 2022, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge struck down California's legislation requiring representation of women on the boards of publicly held companies with principal executive offices in California. The law,...more
As I noted yesterday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis has found California's female director quota law, SB 826, to violate the Equal Protection clause of the California Constitution (A person may not be ....more
Following a lengthy trial, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis has found that California's female director quota law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution...more
Yesterday's discussion of an amicus brief filed by 17 law professors in a case challenging SB 826, California's female director quota mandate, reminded me of a related question that I raised a few years ago...more
Earlier this year, the trial of one of the challenges to SB 826, California's female director quota law, concluded but Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis has yet to release her decision. Crest v. Weber,...more
On April 1, 2022, a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles struck down California's landmark legislation requiring representation of "underrepresented communities" on the boards of publicly held companies based in California....more
When I reported last Friday that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Green had ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in their challenge to California's board quota law, AB 979, all I had was a brief minute order from the...more
This afternoon, Judge Terry Green granted the plaintiff's summary judgment motion in a case challenging the constitutionality of AB 979. Crest v. Padilla, LA Super. Ct. Case No. 20STCV37513...more
On Monday, I noted that because California's female director quota law uses the word "shall", it is mandatory. Confused? Here's how I break down the law...more
As the trial of of the constitutionality of SB 826, California's female director quota, law continues, the question of the plaintiffs' standing remains in contention. As I reported in June of last year, Judge Maureen...more
SB 826 is scheduled to go on trial today before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis. Crest v. Weber, Cal. Super. Ct. Case No. 19STCV27561. SB 826 requires all publicly held corporations headquartered in...more
It should be a surprise to no one that California's laws imposing strict gender and diversity requirements on publicly held corporations continue to attract legal challenges. Tomorrow, a trial is scheduled to begin in...more
A study by an international team of scholars has concluded that California's imposition of a gender quota on publicly held corporations with their principal executive offices in the state resulted in a "robust and...more
California's female and underrepresented community board quota statutes apply to publicly held corporations having their principal executive offices in California "according to the corporation's SEC 10-K form". Cal. Corp....more
In seeking dismissal of a federal court challenge to California's director quota mandates, the California Secretary of State argues "SB 826 and AB 979 guarantees that a corporation can appoint new directors through a race-...more
As noted in prior posts, the Secretary of State has filed a motion to dismiss a federal court challenge to California's director quota laws (SB 826 and AB 979). The Secretary's brief includes several remarkable and...more
In July, a Texas non-profit membership association filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District (Western Division) of California, Alliance For Fair Board Recruitment v. Weber, Case No....more
California Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis issued her ruling yesterday on the parties' respective motions for summary judgment in Crest v. Padilla (Cal. Super. Ct. Case No. 19STCV27561). In this case, the plaintiffs...more
Readers may recall that there are at least two challenges to California's female director quota mandate (aka SB 826). In June, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals resurrected one suit by holding that the challenger has...more
Earlier this month, a Texas non-profit membership association filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of California, Alliance For Fair Board Recruitment v. Weber, Case No....more
In 2018, California enacted SB 826 to impose female director quotas on publicly held domestic or foreign corporation whose principal executive offices, according to the corporation’s SEC 10-K form, are located in California. ...more
Readers of this space will know that the California's board diversity statutes apply to "publicly held corporations" and that California's corporate disclosure law applies to "publicly traded corporations". Although these...more