In Apple Inc., 2017 BL 452782 (Dec. 15, 2017), Apple Inc. (“Apple”) asked the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to permit the omission of a proposal submitted by Zevin Asset Management, LLC, on behalf of Eli Plenk (“Shareholders”) that would integrate sustainability and diversity metrics with the performance measures of Apple’s executive compensation plans. The SEC issued the requested no action letter allowing for the exclusion of the proposal from Apple’s proxy statement under Rule 14a-8(i)(12)(ii).
Read MoreIn SEC v. Mapp, No. 4:16-CV-00246, 2017 BL 401498 (E.D. Tex. Nov. 8, 2017), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted in part and denied in part the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) motion for summary judgment and denied William E. Mapp’s (“Defendant”) partial motion for summary judgment.
According to the allegations, Defendant raised approximately $26 million in private securities offerings as CEO for Servergy, Inc., (“Servergy”) from November 2009 to September 2013. Defendant received over $1.4 million in investments from Caleb White (“White”) through Dominion Joint Venture Group No. 1, 2, and 3 (collectively “Dominion JVs”). Servergy also secured $19.4 million from broker dealer WFG Investments, Inc. (“WFG”). Severgy did not file a registration statement for any of its securities offerings.
Read MoreIn Norfolk Cty. Ret. Sys. v. Cmty Health Sys., Inc., 877 F.3d 687 (6th Cir. 2017), the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the district court’s judgment in favor of Community Health System shareholders (“Plaintiffs”). The Court of Appeals ruled that under §10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, Plaintiffs plausibly alleged the value of Community Health Systems’s (“Defendant”) shares fell because of undisclosed practices. Defendant’s profits relied on Medicare fraud, which they failed to disclose. The Plaintiffs allege that the market reacted negatively once those fraudulent practices were revealed, resulting in a loss in the value of their shares.
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