Shareholder proposal rule
Class Action Trends – Interview with Stephen Gulotta, Managing Member, Mintz Levin's New York Office
On February 12, 2025, the Division of Corporation Finance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14M (SLB 14M) setting forth staff guidance on shareholder proposals submitted...more
In our earlier blog post, we discussed Staff Legal Bulletin 14M (SLB 14M), which rescinded prior Staff Legal Bulletin 14L (SLB 14L). The staff of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicated that SLB 14M is...more
Public companies can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now, that the Securities and Exchange Commission's 14a-8 regulatory process for excluding shareholder proposals remains intact....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
Companies that are listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market or the New York Stock Exchange are required to adopt a clawback policy that provides for the recovery from any current or former executive officers of incentive-based...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 (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
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
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
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
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
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
On July 24, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") announced charges against Facebook Inc. ("Facebook") for making misleading statements and risk factor disclosures regarding the misuse of Facebook user data...more
In a wide ranging derivative action, a Facebook shareholder has filed a 193 page complaint in the Delaware Court of Chancery alleging three Facebook directors sold a total of $1.5 billion of stock while in possession of...more
SEC Adopts Final Rules for Disclosure of Hedging Policies. On December 18, 2018, the SEC approved final rules regarding the disclosure of a company’s hedging practices or policies, as mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act. This...more
Compensation-related litigation and threats of litigation continued to significantly impact public companies in 2017. These companies should be mindful of issues that were raised in recent litigation: proxy disclosure,...more