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 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
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
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
Jesse Fried is the Dane Professor of Law at the Harvard Law School. He and Lucian Bebchuk wrote the book, Pay without Performance: the Unfulfilled Promise of Executive Compensation, a critical assessment of corporate...more
The constitutional infirmity of California's legislation, AB 979, mandating minimum numbers of directors was well known to the legislators. Both the Assembly and Senate floor analyses noted that earlier legislation mandating...more
According to the California Secretary of State's Women on Board report, 22 publicly held corporations moved their principal executive offices out of California. These data were based on a comparison of annual reports filed...more
California's female and underrepresented communities quota requirements apply to "publicly-held corporations". California's Corporate Disclosure Statement requirement applies to "publicly-traded corporations". California's...more
A California corporation or a foreign corporation that has registered to transact intrastate business in California may be required to file either one or two annual statements with the Secretary of State. It may also be...more
Last August, I reported on the filing of a taxpayer challenge to California's Board Gender Quota Law. Crest v. Padilla, Cal. Super. Ct. Case No. 19STCV27561. California's Secretary of State, Alex Padilla, was named as the...more
The legislation creating California's female director board quota requires the Secretary of State to publish on his Internet website a report no later than March 1, 2020 a report of the following...more
Board Diversity: A Reflection on Improvement and a Look Ahead for the Coming Decade - In the second half of this decade, diversity and inclusion rose to the forefront of top priorities for many companies. Due to evolving...more
Corporations Code Section 301.3(a) provides: "No later than the close of the 2019 calendar year, a publicly held domestic or foreign corporation whose principal executive offices, according to the corporation’s SEC 10-K...more