The SEC has adopted interim final amendments to Form 10-K, Form 20-F, Form 40-F, and Form N-CSR to implement the disclosure and submission requirements of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCA Act. The HFCA Act became law on December 18, 2020. Among other things the HFCA Act... Read More
In re Forum Mobile, Inc. considers petitioner Synergy Management Group LLC’s request for the appointment of its President to be custodian of Forum Mobile, Inc. under Section 226(a)(3) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL. The respondent in the action technically is Forum, but according to the Court, Forum... Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled charges against an Oklahoma-based gas exploration and production company, Gulfport Energy Corporation, and its former CEO, Michael G. Moore, for failing to properly disclose as compensation certain perks provided to Moore, as well as failing to disclose certain related person transactions. SEC enforcement... Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the creation of a Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement. Consistent with increasing investor focus and reliance on climate and ESG-related disclosure and investment, the Climate and ESG Task Force will develop initiatives to proactively identify ESG-related misconduct. The task... Read More
On March 5, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged AT&T, Inc. with repeatedly violating Regulation FD, and three of its Investor Relations executives with aiding and abetting AT&T’s violations, by selectively disclosing material nonpublic information to research analysts. The enforcement action demonstrates how efforts to talk down analyst estimates... Read More
In a public statement Acting SEC Chair Allison Herren Lee noted that she had directed the Division of Corporation Finance to enhance its focus on climate-related disclosure in public company filings. Chair Lee noted the Commission in 2010 provided guidance to public companies regarding existing disclosure requirements as they apply... Read More
ISS has posted its usual suite of interpretive material for the upcoming proxy season. The Compensation FAQs note exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on company operations will be considered in ISS’ qualitative evaluation. The FAQs then point you toward ISS’ previously released COVID-19 FAQs. The Equity... Read More
In Pascal v. Czerwinski et al, the Delaware Court of Chancery considered whether disclosures in Columbia Financial’s 2019 proxy statement related to the adoption of an equity incentive plan, or EIP, were adequate. The directors of the company granted awards to themselves as compensation for past efforts to take the... Read More
The SEC adopted final rules that will require resource extraction issuers that are required to file reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to disclose payments made to the U.S. federal government or foreign governments for the commercial development of oil, natural gas, or... Read More
The pending National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 (H.R. 6395) will require many private companies to confidentially report the beneficial ownership of their common stock in many circumstances. The beneficial ownership provisions are included in what is named the “Corporate Transparency Act.” The Corporate Transparency Act excludes... Read More