SEC prevails with decision on proxy advisor rule (IGNITES)

A lawsuit challenging the SEC’s amended Proxy Advisor Rule was recently dismissed, with a district court judge saying that it was reasonable for the SEC to change course on the rule. Although it was finalized, the original 2020 rule never went into effect. A new SEC administration, led by Gary Gensler, changed its view of the rule after his appointment, according to FrontLine’s Founder and President Amy Lynch, eventually adding revisions to make it more pro-shareholder. The judge ruled that the SEC was within its legal bounds to make changes based on policymaking and shifting priorities, though the SEC did retain some provisions that were in the prior version of the rule. Ms. Lynch also states that the industry pushed back on the SEC’s shorter 30-day comment period for the amended version of the rule, which was viewed as not providing enough time to put together and submit a thoughtful response to a rule proposal. See IGNITES (subscription required), “Judge Tosses Suit Over SEC’s Proxy Advisor Rule”