Tag: shareholder proposal

We identified our shareholder proposal on our proxy card as “Shareholder Proposal.” Does that work?

by Cydney Posner Uh, no.  In a new CDI, Corp Fin tells us how not to identify proposals on proxy cards, particularly shareholder proposals. Rule 14a-4(a)(3) requires that the form of proxy “identify clearly and impartially each separate matter intended to be acted upon.”  But, when it comes to shareholder […]

NYC Comptroller submits proxy access proposals to 72 companies for 2016

by Cydney Posner As noted in TheCorporateCounsel.net blog, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer has once again submitted, on behalf of a number of NYC pension funds, a raft of shareholder proposals for proxy access as part of the Comptroller’s continuing Boardroom Accountability Project.  The list of the 72 companies targeted this […]

Third Circuit allows Wal-Mart to exclude Trinity’s proposal from its 2015 proxy statement

by Cydney Posner No sooner did I post regarding oral argument in the appeal of Trinity Wall Street v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc  (see this post) than I find that the Third Circuit has just issued an Order in the case, vacating the injunction that had been issued against Wal-Mart. As a result, Wal-Mart will […]

Third Circuit hears oral argument in Trinity Wall Street v. Wal-Mart Stores

by Cydney Posner Last week, the 3rd Circuit heard oral argument in the appeal of Trinity Wall Street v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., a decision by a federal district court in Delaware that had enjoined Wal-Mart from relying on the “ordinary business operations” exclusion, Rule 14a-8(i)(7), to exclude Trinity’s shareholder proposal from […]

Activists seek to exclude abstentions from the voting standard for shareholder proposals

by Cydney Posner The WSJ is reporting on a move by some shareholder activists to change the way votes are counted.   One shareholder activist group has studied the voting results for shareholder proposals over the period from 2004 to 2014, identifying 63 cases in which the “yes” votes outnumbered […]

Shareholder proposal regarding audit committee composition

by Cydney Posner As noted in this article from Compliance Week, the Corp Fin staff have refused to issue no-action relief to Citigroup agreeing that it could exclude from its proxy statement a proposal from the prolific John Chevedden regarding audit committee composition. It may be worth noting because, while the […]

Proxy access — is private ordering now taking front and center stage?

by Cydney Posner As reported by thecorporatecounsel.net blog, on December 1, the SEC staff granted the no-action request of Whole Foods Market, Inc., allowing the company to omit from its proxy statement a non-binding shareholder proposal to permit proxy access.  The proposal was submitted by James McRitchie, who delegated all authority […]

Court precludes omission of shareholder proposal, after SEC staff permits exclusion

by Cydney Posner In Trinity Wall Street v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., a federal district court in Delaware granted injunctive relief precluding omission of a shareholder proposal from Wal-Mart’s proxy statement, notwithstanding the SEC staff’s no-action position permitting exclusion of the proposal. That’s a much simplified version of the case, but […]