Lovenheim v. Iroquois Brands, Ltd.
618 F.Supp. 554 (D.D.C. 1985)
Facts
Lovenheim (P), owns shares of Iroquois Brands, Ltd. (D). P is distraught over the procedures that D uses to force-feed geese. P submitted a proxy whereby shareholders would be allowed to vote on whether they were in favor of the treatment of the force-feeding of geese. D refused to allow P's information to appear on proxy materials. D argues that the P's proposal has little economic impact on the firm and therefore it should not be compelled to include it in the proxy materials. D argues that the economic impact of the proxy question concerned only 0.05% of the assets of the firm. P brought an action to compel D to submit his proposal on the proxy materials. P's right to compel D to insert information in the proxy materials turns on the applicability of section 14(a) and the shareholder proposal rule promulgated by the SEC, Rule 14a-8.3. D has refused to allow P's proposal to be included in proxy materials. D relies on Rule 14a-8(c)(5): an issuer of securities 'may omit a proposal and any statement in support thereof' from its proxy statement and form of proxy: if the proposal relates to operations which account for less than 5 percent of the issuer's total assets at the end of its most recent fiscal year, and less than 5 percent of its net earnings and gross sales for its most recent fiscal year, and is not otherwise significantly related to the issuer's business.
Nature Of The Case
This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.
Issues
The legal issues presented in this case will be displayed here.
Holding & Decision
The court's holding and decision will be displayed here.
Legal Analysis
Legal analysis from Dean's Law Dictionary will be displayed here.
© 2007-2025 ABN Study Partner