On Wednesday, the Delaware Supreme Court held in Salzberg, et al. v. Sciabacucchi (C.A. No. 2017-0931) that exclusive federal-forum provisions, which require shareholder claims under the federal Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act or Securities Act) only be filed in federal court, are valid under Delaware law. As a result of the United States Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver County Emp. Retirement Fund that federal and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction,…

While managing COVID-19 related risks and impacts may be the current priority for many public companies, BlackRock provided a reminder yesterday that environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues will form a core part of its engagement strategy this proxy season.  Publishing its investment stewardship team’s public company engagement priorities for 2020 (Priorities), BlackRock stressed, among other things, that it intends to hold board directors accountable for demonstrating “material progress” on ESG-related disclosures and practices. BlackRock’s…

Last week, the European Commission’s Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (TEG) published its final report along with a technical annex setting forth its recommendations regarding the design and implementation of a unified classification system, known as EU Taxonomy, which will define what economic activities are considered environmentally sustainable under the EU’s sustainable finance regulations.  The final report is the result of a nearly two year long process conducted at the direction of the European…

On Monday, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) announced the launch of a new specialty proxy voting guideline focusing on climate-related issues. ISS explains that the new Climate Voting Policy aids investors in “incorporate[ing] climate-related considerations systematically into their engagement and proxy voting strategies across their portfolios.” This development is likely based on ISS’s 2019 annual policy survey results, which we shared in a prior summary. Those results show that 60% of the investor respondents…

Yesterday, senior leaders of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) issued a joint statement (Statement) noting the potential effect that the coronavirus (COVID-19) may have on reporting companies, reminding companies of their disclosure obligations and notifying companies affected by the virus that they may contact the SEC for guidance or a determination of their eligibility for relief from filing deadlines. The Statement comes in…

Today, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) voted to propose amendments to certain financial disclosure requirements under Regulation S-K, specifically those requirements related to Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A).  In addition to these proposed amendments, the SEC issued guidance for registrants to consider when using metrics and key performance indicators in their MD&A disclosures.  The press release announcing these developments explains that the proposals are…