Back to the bottomless well…

I’ve previously commented on the items up for a shareholder vote next week, Mike Levin and I recorded a Shareholder Primacy podcast about it, and I also spoke about it on Fordham’s Bite Sized Business Law podcast. The proposal that really has my attention is Proposal 3, which would amend Tesla’s 2019 stock compensation plan to do two things: First, to create a reserve of shares for the board to award Elon Musk to replace his 2018 pay package, if the Delaware Supreme Court affirms Chancellor McCormick’s rescission of that package. And second, to authorize Tesla shares to pay other employees, just as part of a normal stock compensation plan. One thing I highlighted on the Shareholder Primacy podcast – and has become a focus of objection by multiple shareholders – is that these two very different proposals are bundled together in a single vote to amend the 2019 compensation plan. That is, if you want to allow Tesla to pay its employees in stock, but you don’t want to restore Elon Musk’s 2018 pay package, there isn’t an option for that; you can have both, or neither.

Is that … okay?

As with many things Tesla does … technically, but not in spirit.

Exchange Act Rule 14a-4(a)(3) requires that proposals be “unbundled,” meaning, that shareholders must be given the opportunity to vote on each material item separately. Though there is little caselaw interpreting what counts as a separate matter that needs to be unbundled, in Greenlight Capital, L.P. v. Apple, Inc., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24716 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 22, 2013), the company proposed a series of charter amendments bundled as a single voting item, and argued that they counted as one proposal to amend the corporate charter. The court rejected that argument, holding that the company had deprived shareholders of the ability to express separate preferences on the different items.

Under that standard, one would think that Tesla absolutely was not permitted to bundle together the two compensation items as a single matter, even though they both come under the heading of “Amendments to the 2019 compensation plan.”

But matters do not rest there. In response to Greenlight Capital, the SEC issued a new CD&I on standards for when matters can, and can’t, be bundled as separate voting items. Among other things, it advised that several “immaterial” charter amendments may be bundled together with a single “material” matter (which contradicted some of Greenlight Capital‘s reasoning), though it also noted that if management “knows or has reason to know” that shareholders would wish to express separate preferences on the different matters, the proposals should be unbundled.

That standard, too, would condemn Tesla’s actions here, except for the kicker. The SEC commented directly on the issue of amendments to stock compensation plans:

Question: Management of a registrant intends to present for a vote of shareholders a single proposal covering an omnibus amendment to a registrant’s equity incentive plan. The amendment makes the following changes to the terms of the plan:

  • increases the total number of shares reserved for issuance under the plan;
  • increases the maximum amount of compensation payable to an employee during a specified period for purposes of meeting the requirements for qualified performance-based compensation under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code;
  • adds restricted stock to the types of awards that can be granted under the plan; and
  • extends the term of the plan.

Must any of these proposed changes be unbundled into a separate proposal pursuant to Rule 14a‑4(a)(3)?

Answer: No. While the staff generally will object to the bundling of multiple, material matters into a single proposal – provided that the individual matters would require shareholder approval under state law, the rules of a national securities exchange, or the registrant’s organizational documents if presented on a standalone basis – the staff will not object to the presentation of multiple changes to an equity incentive plan in a single proposal. See Section III of Exchange Act Release No. 33229 (Nov. 22, 1993). This is the case even if the changes can be characterized as material in the context of the plan and the rules of a national securities exchange would require shareholder approval of each of the changes if presented on a standalone basis. 

Now, I’m guessing that when this interpretation was developed – and similar guidance was offered in 1993 – no one was anticipating anything like Tesla. They were anticipating a plan that generally was conceived as a whole, had different moving parts, that would be unwieldy to break out into separate pieces. And ordinary course stock compensation plans are very much a matter for board discretion; I could imagine an argument that inviting shareholders to cherry pick aspects of them would perhaps result in undue meddling in management matters. This is why, for example, the Greenlight Capital court held that it would be permissible to bundle together multiple “ministerial and technical matters that do not alter substantive shareholder rights.” (Though James Cox, Fabrizio Ferri, Colleen Honigsberg, and Randall Thomas disagree; in their article on bundling, they argued that the SEC should at least have sought shareholder comment before creating such a significant carveout.) But even if you agree with the carveout in general, that’s very different than what Tesla is doing here, which is bundling a banal stock plan with an extraordinary one-time boon to their CEO and largest shareholder. The proposals differ in purpose, size, conditions, covered employees, level of insider conflict, and tax and accounting consequences, not to mention levels of controversy.

But, the SEC said what it said, and here we are.

And another thing. On this week’s Shareholder Primacy podcast, me and Mike Levin look at how the universal proxy rules have worked out, now three years later. Here at Apple, here at Spotify, and here at YouTube.

Here is Novo Nordisk’s bid for Metsera. Because the deal requires prolonged regulatory clearance, Novo will buy nonvoting convertible shares from Metsera, with the cash to be paid as a dividend to Metsera’s shareholders now. Since the convertibles are nonvoting, no regulatory preclearance is required, and cash gets to Metsera right away. Before NN can convert to voting and take over the company, it has to obtain regulatory clearance.

Which sounds fine except for how this looks a lot like what DOJ called an evasion of antitrust law just a few years ago with Toshiba and Canon.

Here, the parties might argue that this structure is not solely to evade preclearance, as it was there – it’s also to give assurances to Metsera in the context of a contested takeover battle, and meet contractual requirements to qualify as a superior offer. 

Maybe that wins the day but it’s why, I guess, Pfizer says this is an “illusory” offer and Metsera may not terminate the current agreement.

If I’m getting this wrong, though, someone let me know so I can edit/delete and bury my shame. (Commenting doesn’t seem to work well here but feel free to email).

The William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in Business Law to begin in Fall 2026. We seek candidates with a demonstrated record or strong potential for excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service.

We welcome applicants whose research and teaching interests include business associations, corporate law, commercial law, securities regulation, entrepreneurship, or related areas. The successful candidate will join a collegial and interdisciplinary faculty committed to teaching excellence, community engagement, and advancing justice in Hawaiʻi and beyond.
 
Applications must be submitted through the University of Hawaiʻi’s official Work at UH portal.

For full consideration, please apply by November 12, 2025.
 
For inquiries, please contact Professor Alina Ng Boyte at aboyte@hawaii.edu.

Back in June of 2024, in connection with the legislative debate in Delaware over the approval of § 122(18) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (DGCL § 122(18)), I authored a blog post in which I raised concerns about whether there was adequate understanding of the public policy impacts of the proposal to adopt DGCL § 122(18).  I then wrote:

I have one large and important question as Senate Bill 313 continues to move through the Delaware legislative process: do members of the Delaware General Assembly voting on this bill fully understand the large shift in public policy represented by the introduction of DGCL § 122(18)?  If so, then they act on an informed basis and live with the consequences, as they do with any legislation they pass that is signed into law.  If not, we all must work harder to enable that understanding.

Later that month, I authored and published a second blog post that cross-referenced the earlier blog post and offered several policy-related values relevant to the proposal.

Two-and-a-half weeks ago, I found myself affected by similar concerns about the need for serious, thoughtful policy engagement in Delaware.  The occasion was the Gala Celebration of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware’s 25th anniversary.  As many readers may know, a large group of policymakers, academics, and practitioners gathered at the University of Delaware for the Gala and an amazing symposium earlier that same day.  Larry Cunningham and his staff did a great job in organizing an impactful day, including the formal Gala program, which featured  a series of Delaware and national luminaries.  Information about the celebration can be found here.  I am grateful for Larry inviting me to speak at the symposium and write a related book chapter on board leadership and for the accompanying invitation to the Gala.

Among the speakers at the Gala was U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins.  The speech is posted on the SEC website here. Bloomberg, among others, also covered the speech here.  Chair Atkins’s remarks, which centered on regulatory reform regarding shareholder proposals, have generated some controversy (see, e.g., here and here).  The Weinberg Center is convening a panel discussion on the SEC’s shareholder proposal rule, Rule 14a-8, in December.

It is Chair Atkins’s speech that night—together with co-blogger Ann Lipton and Mike Levin’s recent Shareholder Primacy podcast on the same—that catalyzes my post today.  I write today not to stake a claim on the substance of Chair Atkins’s remarks.  Rather, I write in the spirit of law reform in general, and especially as it relates to business law.  I became a business lawyer 40 years ago in part because I like the idea that law could encourage people—promoters, managers, investors, employees, contractors, and others—to form and operate business entities that serve public needs and wants. 

As I listened to Chair Atkins’s speech that night, I was most struck by his call for Delaware to clarify its law to assist the SEC in the pursuit of its regulatory initiatives.  (Ann notes this also toward the end of the Shareholder Primacy podcast.)  The essential bundled rationales for that call to action?  Delaware would be supporting the very capital markets that have helped make the state an international corporate formation and governance leader at a time when that leadership has been called into question (expressly referencing the “DExit” movement). Although one might debate (as some have) the substance of Chair Atkins’s request (or, indeed, the appropriateness of using the Weinberg Gala as a forum for making that request), my concern is merely that Delaware’s lawmakers consider and address Delaware’s own public policy in making legislative and regulatory decisions, including interpretive decisions about Delaware’s revered corporate governance rules.

Delaware’s corporate law is broad and deep.  Its relative stability and predictability, among other things (including the expertise of its judiciary), have encouraged venturers to come together to form sustainable businesses—a core public policy value—over a long term.  The existence of commentators with divergent perspectives (e.g., those who have argued that the state’s laws are pro-promoter/manager or pro-stockholder and those who have argued that the law represents a race to the bottom or a race to the top) suggests that Delaware law has delicately—and successfully—balanced and rebalanced the interests of managers (directors and officers) and stockholders over time.

Our federal and state securities laws have a different set of purposes that are founded on distinct public policy judgments.  (Again, Ann alludes to this in the Shareholder Primacy podcast.)  By protecting investors, maintaining fair capital markets, and encouraging capital formation, these laws enable an important—but not exclusive—component of the overall environment for business: corporate finance.  Delaware’s corporate law serves more than that one component.  And it serves corporations of all types and sizes—those that access public capital markets and those that do not.  The corporate governance rules established by the U.S. Congress, the SEC, and Delaware’s General Assembly and courts may overlap, but the reasons for having and enforcing those rules may be quite distinct.

Apropos of these considerations and Chair Atkins’s speech, the Weinberg Center reports that the State of Delaware has asked the University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration to study “the intersection between federal rule and state law” in proxy regulation, with a goal of determining how that intersection “implicates Delaware’s corporate franchise.”  I am interested in this work.  I am hopeful that initiatives of this kind will help inform robust public policy debates that, in turn, inform law reform efforts.

With all of this in mind, I write today to encourage Delaware’s influential policymakers to act with the purposes and values of Delaware corporate law in mind when they adjust and fashion corporate governance rules.  With this core focus, policymakers can best assess whether and, if so, how those purposes and values are best served by legal stasis or change.  Without this focus, Delaware lawmaking may produce a less coherent legal framework for business organizations and the venturers who form and participate in them.

LSUS is seeking applications for two different positions–Assistant Professor of Business Law and an Instructor of Business Law. More information about each position can be found below.

Assistant Professor of Business Law

The AACSB accredited College of Business at Louisiana State University Shreveport (LSUS) seeks applications for a 9-month tenure-track position in business law starting August 2026. The selected candidate will report to the Chair of the Department of Accounting and Business Law. Applications will be considered from all candidates who meet our AACSB qualifications.

Responsibilities:

  • Teach business law courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, in face-to-face and online settings.
  • Produce scholarship at a level consistent with our AACSB Scholarly Academic standards.
  • Participate in service activities at the university, college, and department levels, as well as in community and profession.
  • Participate in the assessment of student learning outcomes and program effectiveness.

Required Qualifications:

  • A Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited law school.
  • Admitted to practice law by the highest court of at least one U.S. state.
  • Evidence of teaching excellence.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • At least one year of demonstrated teaching effectiveness, teaching Business Law classes.

Salary and Benefits:

  • Competitive salary commensurate with experience.
  • Comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plan options, and professional development support.

Application Process:

To apply for this position, a CV, cover letter, statement of teaching philosophy, copies of all transcripts that include relevant course work, and contact details of three references should be sent electronically to businessfacultysearch@lsus.edu. Review of complete applications will begin on November 7, 2025; however, the search will remain open until the position is filled. Selected candidates for the interview will be asked to provide three letters of recommendation. LSUS is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. To be considered, the email subject must be “Tenure Track Business Law Faculty Application.” 

About Louisiana State University–Shreveport College of Business:

National Recognition: Established in 1967, Louisiana State University–Shreveport is a public university known for academic excellence and affordability.

College of Business:

  • One of the largest business colleges in the region.
  • Over 6,500 students enrolled in the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Health Administration (MHA) programs.
  • Nearly 1,000 undergraduate business students enrolled in majors across accounting, finance, general business, management, and marketing.
  • Faculty represents five continents and more than 18 countries.

Mission-Driven: Grounded in its AACSB-aligned mission to educate, engage, and empower students.

Working Professional-Centric Graduate Programs: Offers 100% accelerated online MBA and MHA programs.

Flexible Learning: Offers both accelerated online and traditional face-to-face undergraduate programs.

Impact-Focused Education: Prepares students to make business decisions that create positive and lasting societal impact.

About Shreveport-Bossier, LA:

Why Consider Living in the Shreveport–Bossier Area

Regional Hub: Educational, medical, and cultural center of North Louisiana.

Population & Size: Metropolitan area of more than 390,000 residents, offering mid-sized city amenities with a manageable pace of life.

Affordable Living: Low cost of living and housing well below national averages, allowing professionals and families to enjoy a higher standard of living.

Easy Travel: Shreveport Regional Airport provides convenient connections to major hubs including Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta—ideal for conferences and research travel.

Cultural Life: Symphony performances, film festivals, art galleries, live music venues, and an array of dining options including Louisiana Creole and Cajun traditions enrich the community.

Outdoor Recreation: Nearby rivers, lakes, and wildlife areas offer hiking, kayaking, cycling, and other outdoor activities.

Balanced Lifestyle: Combines affordability, accessibility, cultural amenities, and natural spaces—making it an appealing place to live, work, and grow.

Instructor of Business Law

The AACSB accredited College of Business at Louisiana State University Shreveport (LSUS) seeks applications for a 9-month instructor position for Business Law starting August 2026. The selected candidate will report to the Chair of the Department of Accounting and Business Law. Applications will be considered from all candidates who meet our AACSB qualifications.

Responsibilities:

  • Teach Business Law courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, in face-to-face and online settings.
  • Maintain AACSB qualification in any of the four categories (scholarly practitioners, scholarly academic, instructional practitioners, or practice academics).
  • Participate in service activities at the university, college, and department levels, as well as in community and profession.
  • Participate in the assessment of student learning outcomes and program effectiveness.

Required Qualifications:

  • A Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited law school.
  • Admitted to practice law by the highest court of at least one U.S. state.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • At least one year of demonstrated teaching effectiveness, teaching Business Law classes.

Application:

To apply for this position, a CV, cover letter, statement of teaching philosophy, copies of all transcripts that include relevant course work, and contact details of three references should be sent electronically to businessfacultysearch@lsus.edu. Review of complete applications will begin on November 7, 2025; however, the search will remain open until the position is filled. Selected candidates for the interview will be asked to provide three letters of recommendation. LSUS is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. To be considered, the email subject must be “Instructor of Business Law Application.” 

Although not much time has passed since I put out updated tables for Nevada and Texas on October 9, I’ve found another four reincorporations to Nevada recently, so I’ve updated these tables below. In the interest of making this readable, I’ve dropped the tables at the bottom and covered the stated rationales at the top.

The four recent firms announcing moves or attempts to move to Nevada include: (1) Oblong, Inc.; (2) HWH International Inc.; (3) Twin Vee PowerCats, Co.; and (4) Digital Brands Group, Inc. In terms of market capitalization, these are all nano-cap firms with market capitalizations under $50 million. Digital Brands Group is larger than the remainder combined with a market capitalization of roughly $38 million. This is a group where cost concerns about franchise taxes may be more material.

The stated rationales cover franchise tax costs, litigation risk environments, transaction planning, books and records actions, and potential D&O savings. As I am reading more of these proxies, I’m also beginning to develop concerns that not every firm reincorporating to Nevada has consulted with a Nevada lawyer about Nevada law. I’ve added some mild finger wagging to try to help.

Before discussing these, I want to drop a few quick notes for counsel drafting filings around Nevada reincorporations.

  • Nevada’s statute online is out of date. You can access the Nevada Revised Statutes online, but you shouldn’t trust them until they’re updated. The 2025 revisions to the Nevada statute went into effect on May 30, 2025 upon Governor Lombardo’s signature. Westlaw has updated its version of the Nevada Revised Statutes. As of today, LexisNexis has not yet updated and is just as out of date as the Nevada website.
  • The Nevada statute exempts public companies from stockholder inspection actions so long as they keep making their securities filings. The 15% threshold is for private companies.
  • The Nevada statute does define controlling stockholders. It’s NRS 78.240. It provides that a controlling stockholder is “a stockholder of a corporation having the voting power, by virtue of such stockholder’s relative beneficial ownership of shares or otherwise pursuant to the articles of incorporation, to elect at least a majority of the corporation’s directors.” The statutory duty “is to refrain from exerting undue influence over any director or officer of the corporation with the purpose and proximate effect of inducing a breach of fiduciary duty by such director or officer.” You will not currently find this on the Nevada website or LexisNexis. You should pull it up on Westlaw or use the legislative materials.

Stated Rationales

Franchise Tax Cost Savings

Oblong

For this particular subset of firms, cost appears to be a material factor. Oblong, Inc. explained that its board seeks to move to Nevada for cost reasons, explaining that it expects to save at least about $175,000 per year. This is how the company put it:

We anticipate tax savings of approximately $175,000 to $200,000 on an annual basis. For the 2025 calendar year, we expect Delaware franchise tax expense will be approximately $175,000 to $200,000. We anticipate that, if we remain a Delaware corporation, for the 2026 calendar year, our Delaware franchise taxes will be approximately the same as 2025 (based on our current capital structure and assets). By comparison, if we redomesticate in Nevada, our current annual fees will consist of an annual Nevada state business license fee of $500, and the current fee for filing the Company’s annual list of directors and officers, based on the number of authorized shares and their par value, would equal $400. (emphasis added)

Interestingly, Oblong’s proxy gives two different numbers for its expected franchise tax cost in Delaware. On page 29, it says it expects $175,000 to $200,000 in franchise taxes for 2025. On page 32 it states that it expects the franchise taxes for 2025 will be $165,000. That’s at least a $10,000 difference.

HWH International

Similarly, HWH also identified cost a concern. Notably, HWH moved via written consent so there will not be a vote. It succinctly explained that “[t]he Company, while incorporated in the state of Delaware, is required to pay a corporate franchise tax each year, however the State of Nevada does not have a franchise tax. We paid franchise tax in the amount of $48,810 for the tax year 2024 and $205,000 for the tax year 2023. We estimate that we will save approximately $37,000 per year on franchise taxes if this proposal is approved.” (emphasis added)

Twin Vee PowerCats

Twin Vee also idenfied franchise tax savings as a rationale, explaining that it recently “paid approximately $25,258 in franchise taxes to the state of Delaware, which will no longer be required to be paid if the Reincorporation is completed. If the Reincorporation is completed, our current annual fees in Nevada will consist of an annual state business license fee of $500, plus the fee for filing our annual list of directors and officers based on the number of authorized shares and their par value, currently equal to $60,000, for a total of $75.” (emphasis added)

Digital Brands Group

Although Digital Brands also identified franchise tax cost savings, it did not specify what they would be. I took a quick look at the number of authorized shares (a billion shares of common stock authorized according to a 10-K) and an out-of-date calculator from Delaware and came up with $200,000 annually. I do not know if that is right and I don’t plan to spend any more time attempting to figure it out as no one is paying me to.

Lower D&O Insurance Premiums

Oblong

Oblong also contends that it hopes for lower D&O premiums as a Nevada firm. It identified “[p]otential cost savings in director and officer (D&O) insurance premiums from reduced litigation and litigation costs, including attorneys’ fees, which can be significant for corporate litigation.”

This potential and hope for lower D&O Premium benefit is something that a good number of firms have identified, but I have not yet been able to find any current D&O insurer that offers a discounted rate for Nevada firms. Nevada firms may end up paying lower rates over time if they don’t have any claims history, but there is not currently any insurer I know of that is offering a discount.

Concern About Delaware’s Litigation Risk Environment

Oblong

Oblong also expressed concern about Delaware’s litigation risk environment. It explained that “there has been an increased risk of opportunistic litigation for Delaware public companies, which has made Delaware a less attractive place of incorporation due to the substantial costs associated with defending against such suits. These costs are often borne by the Company’s stockholders through, among other things, indemnification obligations, distraction to Company management and employees, and increased insurance premiums.”

Twin Vee PowerCats

Twin Vee echoed this concern, stating that its board had “considered the increasingly litigious environment in Delaware, which has engendered less meritorious and costly litigation and has the potential to cause unnecessary distraction to our directors and management team and potential delay in our response to the evolving business environment.”

Digital Brands Group

Digital Brands also echoed these concerns about litigation risk environments:

we believe the Nevada Reincorporation will result in less unmeritorious litigation against the corporation and our directors and officers, which in turn would better allow our directors and officers to focus on the business and save the Company the costs of such litigation. Though the DGCL was recently amended to, among other things, increase protections for officers of a corporation, we believe Nevada strikes a better balance between the benefits and costs of litigation to the Company and its stockholders than does Delaware because Nevada has a statute-focused approach to corporate law whereas Delaware’s approach depends upon judicial interpretation that lends itself to greater uncertainty.

The increasing frequency of claims and litigation in Delaware brought by financially-interested law firms against corporations and their directors and officers creates unnecessary distraction and costs for businesses, especially businesses in competitive and innovative industries. The absence of statutory bright-line standards in Delaware for transactions that may involve a controlling stockholder has encouraged law firms to test new theories of liability and broaden the definition of who is in control, what transactions should be deemed conflicted and how strict the standards should be for cleansing such transactions. (emphasis added)

Predictability and Transaction Planning

Oblong

Oblong expressed concern about Delaware courts creating governance uncertainty and expressed a preference for Nevada’s statutory approach. This is how it put it:

We believe that the recent variety in and unpredictability of judicial interpretation in the Delaware courts will have a chilling effect on corporate decision-making, which could result in a company not engaging in transactions potentially beneficial to stockholders. Nevada courts follow a more statute-based approach to director and officer duties that is less dependent on the vagaries of judicial interpretation in the Delaware courts. The Board considered recent amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) that appear to attempt to address, at least in part, some of the uncertainty that has been created by recent Delaware court decisions, but the DGCL amendments are untested, subject to judicial interpretation and may not fully mitigate a variety of litigation and business planning concerns for the Company, and the Board believes that Nevada’s statute-based approach provides greater certainty for corporate decision making, which, in turn will benefit our stockholders. (emphasis added)

Twin Vee PowerCats

Twin Vee also discussed predictability. It put it this way:

Nevada’s statute-focused approach to corporate law and other merits of Nevada law and determined that Nevada’s approach to corporate law is likely to foster more predictability than Delaware’s approach at the current time. The Board believes that Nevada can offer more predictability and certainty in decision-making because of its statute-focused legal environment. NRS Chapter 78, which governs Nevada corporations, is generally recognized as a comprehensive and thoughtfully maintained state corporate statute. Among other things, the Nevada statutes codify the fiduciary duties of directors and officers, which decreases reliance on judicial interpretation and promotes stability and certainty for corporate decision-making. As we look to our planned growth, strategic decisions and plan for the years to come, removing ambiguity resulting from the prioritization of judicial interpretation can offer our Board and management clearer guideposts for action that will benefit our stockholders.

Concern about Books and Records Request Costs

Oblong

Oblong also identified Delaware 220 actions as a cost-driver for public firms in contrast to the Nevada approach which directs public company shareholders to the securities filings. It put it this way:

we may be subject to stockholder books and records inspection demands, pursuant to Section 220 of the DGCL, purportedly seeking to investigate alleged mismanagement and wrongdoing, which, in turn, may cause us to expend substantial legal fees and costs in responding to such demands, in addition to the time and distraction for our management team in gathering records and providing information to our lawyers. Although Section 220 of the DGCL was amended on March 25, 2025 (the “2025 DGCL Amendments”) to narrow the scope of such demands and increase the burden on stockholders for obtaining such records, we still expect fewer frivolous books and records demands under Nevada law, as inspection rights are more restricted for stockholders of a public company like Oblong. Specifically, under the Nevada Revised Statutes (the “NRS”), the right of a stockholder of record to inspect books of account and financial statements does not apply to a corporation that furnishes stockholders a detailed, annual financial statement or that has filed certain reports required pursuant to the Exchange Act during the preceding 12 months. (emphasis added)

Digital Brands Group

Digital Brands also expressed this concern, stating that “Nevada law also takes a different approach than Delaware with respect to stockholder inspection rights, which we believe may balance stockholder rights to accountability while mitigating the unmeritorious use of inspection rights.”

Mild Finger Wagging

In the interest of helping make sure people get Nevada law right, I’ve got two things to highlight here. As Nevada’s law is public and available to everyone, I don’t know whether firms will want to clean these details up before any vote or not. I’m calling these little notes finger wags to convey some chiding disapproval.

Books and Records

It’s worth noting that Digital Brands and Oblong describe Nevada law differently. Digital Brands described Nevada law on stock holder inspection rights this way:

The right to inspect the books of account and all financial records of a corporation, to make copies of records and to conduct an audit of such records is granted only to a stockholder who owns at least 15% of the issued and outstanding shares of a corporation, or who has been authorized in writing by the holders of at least 15% of such shares. A Nevada corporation may require a stockholder to furnish the corporation with an affidavit that such inspection is for a proper purpose related to his or her interest as a stockholder of the corporation.

This is incomplete. It’s a direct quote from the Nevada statute, but it does not mention that this provision wouldn’t apply to Digital Brands because it’s a public company. The same statutory provision, as Oblong noted, goes on to say “the provisions of this section do not apply to any corporation that furnishes to its stockholders a detailed, annual financial statement or any corporation that has filed during the preceding 12 months all reports required to be filed pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78m or 78o(d).”

Interestingly, the same language in the Digital Brands proxy also shows up in a number of other proxies, including BAIYU Holding and Elevai Labs Inc. 

Controlling Stockholders

Twin Vee describes Nevada law on controlling stockholders this way:

NRS 78.140 provides a statutory framework for the approval of transactions between a corporation and a director or officer who has an interest in such transaction. Under this framework, such an interested transaction will not be void or voidable if: (a) the interest is disclosed to the board of directors or a committee thereof, and the disinterested directors or committee members approve such transaction in good faith; (b) the interest is disclosed to the stockholders of the corporation, and the stockholders holding a majority of the voting power approve or ratify the transaction in good faith; (c) the interest is not known to the interested director or officer at the time the transaction is brought before the board of directors for action; or (d) the transaction is fair to the corporation at the time it is authorized or approved. The NRS does not contain specific provisions that specify requirements related to transactions with controlling stockholders, but the Nevada Supreme Court has clarified that Nevada’s codified business judgment rule, and not an “entire fairness” standard, applies to judicial review of director and officer actions in the context of a transaction with a controlling stockholder. However, neither the NRS nor Nevada case law has precisely delineated the scope or extent of the fiduciary duties of controlling stockholders as such. (emphasis added)

This isn’t accurate after the 2025 session. The changes went into effect after being signed by the governor. The controlling stockholder duty is explicitly defined in the statute now. The Nevada Revised Statutes on the Nevada website is way too far out of date.

Updated Nevada Table

2025 Nevada Domicile Shifts
 FirmResultNotes
 1.Fidelity National FinancialPass 
 2.MSG SportsPass 
 3.MSG EntertainmentPass 
 4.Jade BiosciencesPassJade merged with Aerovate.
 5.BAIYU HoldingsPassAction by Written Consent
 6.RobloxPass 
 7.Sphere EntertainmentPass 
 8.AMC NetworksPass 
 9.Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc.PassAction by Written Consent
 10.Revelation BiosciencesFail97% of votes cast were for moving.  There “were 1,089,301 broker non-votes regarding this proposal”
 11.Eightco HoldingsFailVotes were 608,460 in favor and 39,040 against with 763,342 broker non-votes.
 12.DropBoxPassAction by Written Consent
 13.Forward IndustriesFailThis is New York to Nevada. Votes were 427,661 for and 96,862 against with 214,063 Broker Non-Votes.  Did not receive an affirmative vote of the majority of the outstanding shares of common stock.
 14.NuburuFail87% of the votes cast were in favor of the proposal.  11% against 1.6% Abstained. There were 12,250,658 Broker Non-Votes.
 15.Xoma RoyaltyPass 
 16.Tempus AIPass 
 17.AffirmPass 
 18.Liberty LivePendingThis is a split off from a Delaware entity to Nevada
 19.NetcapitalFailThis was a proposed move from Utah to Nevada. It failed with 541,055 votes in favor and 1,456,325 votes against.
 20.Algorhythm HoldingsPendingMeeting set for Nov. 20
 21.Capstone Holding CorpPendingMeeting set for Nov. 18
 22.Oblong, Inc.PendingMeeting set for Dec. 17
 23.HWH International Inc.PassAction by written consent
 24.Twin Vee PowerCatsPendingMeeting set for Dec. 4
 25.Digital Brands Group, Inc.PassAction by written consent

Updated Texas Table

2025 Texas Domicile Shifts
 FirmResultNotes
1.Zion Oil and GasPass 
2.Mercado LibreWithdrawn 
3.Dillard’sPass12,791,756 votes for and 1,477,174 votes against
4.United States Antimony CorporationPassShift from Montana to Texas. 20,626,385 votes in favor.  11,816,235 against. 35,888,464 broker non-votes.

Look, I get why courts are hesitant to allow securities fraud plaintiffs to state a claim based on false pretensions to corporate “ethics.” Courts fear this would cast too wide a net; Matt Levine’s “everything is securities fraud” would become literally true if any kind of corporate misconduct rendered an ethical code “false,” such that the code itself becomes a violation of Section 10(b). And that, as I have previously written, erodes the line between state law governance claims, and federal law fraud claims.

Still, I find it maddening when courts choose to dismiss these kinds of claims on the ground that ethical codes must be puffery because they are required by regulators. For example, the court in Andropolis v. Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., 505 F. Supp. 2d 662 (D. Colo. 2007), “A company’s essentially mandatory adoption of a code of ethics simply does not imply that all of its directors and officers are following that code of ethics. In fact, the mandatory nature of the adoption of such a code makes clear that all public companies—whether run by crooks or angels—will adopt just such a code.”

May I make the radical suggestion that the fact that a code is mandatory, and disclosure is mandatory, suggests that regulators believe that these codes are in fact material to investors and that fact should weigh against a puffery finding? Doesn’t it undermine the regulatory scheme for courts to simply declare certain legal requirements to be so much paperwork? GAAP financials are also required; are those per se immaterial as well?

Anyway, the latest example of the genre comes from In re Exscientia P.L.C. Sec. Litig., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 201398 (D.N.J. Oct. 10, 2025), where plaintiffs alleged that sexual harassment by a corporate CEO rendered the company’s code of ethics misleading. As the court put it:

Companies whose securities trade on American financial markets must adopt a code of conduct/ethics (or “explain why [they have] not done so”). 17 C.F.R. § 229.406(a); see also NASDAQ Rule 5610. Because companies are required to adopt codes of conduct, “the publishing of a code is not actually a statement or representation that it will be followed.” …And because companies must adopt codes of conduct, “[i]nvestors . . . gain no information about a corporation by its adoption of such a code.”

(citations omitted).

I beg to differ. As the Second Circuit has held (umm, inconsistently), for these kinds of situations, we should conduct a thought experiment about what would have happened had the company remained silent. And if, in the face of a regulatory obligation to adopt and disclose a code of ethics, a company entirely failed to do so, wouldn’t investors draw some pretty harsh conclusions? And doesn’t that mean, in turn, that the code has some informational value?

To be fair, the Exscientia court did not leave the matter there; the opinion goes on to note that in some cases, courts have permitted 10(b) claims to proceed based on violations of ethics codes, such as when the underlying misconduct was “pervasive.” In my view, then, the proper analysis is to recognize that the mere existence of a code of ethics does not imply there will never be violations of the code, but it does imply that the code exists, meaning, that there is some good faith effort to comply with its principles, such that the code is rendered false if no such effort is made. Because – as I argued in my paper addressing this – sometimes when courts say a statement is too “vague” for investors to rely upon, what they really mean is, sometimes a statement is so vague that it is consistent with (and thus is truthful as applied to) a very wide range of underlying facts. But it can still be rendered false if the underlying conduct is at the extremes, and in those cases, liability should follow.

And another thing. New Shareholder Primacy podcast! This week, me and Mike Levin talk about SEC Chair Paul Atkins’s Weinberg Center speech at the University of Delaware. Here at Apple, here at Spotify, and here at YouTube.

I spoke to Law.com about the potential switch to semi-annual reporting, and one of the questions I was asked concerned securities fraud risk – more? less?

Answer: it’s complicated.

On the one hand, fewer statements means fewer potentially false statements, and so fewer opportunities for someone to bring a lawsuit over what you say.

On the other hand, probably a lot of companies will continue to speak to the market – and even voluntarily disclose quarterly earnings. Except, they may not include all of the details that a 10-Q would include. Depending on what they choose to disclose, and whether they change their practices over time, there might be some vulnerability to a charge of misleading half-truths/omissions.

Additionally, semi-annual reporting means the market will be receiving less information on the company, and the information it does receive may come as a surprise, resulting in more volatility. Surprise information, coupled with a big price movement, is the stuff securities fraud actions are made of. Fewer disclosures means fewer opportunities to telegraph changed expectations and slow walk the stock in a particular direction.

But on the other hand! Securities fraud actions live or die by the event study – proof that the market was efficient, and proof that the false statements (and revelations of the truth) impacted pricing. But price movements are much harder to detect when the stock price is volatile ordinarily; it takes an unusually large swing to identify the impact of a particular disclosure. That may make it hard for plaintiffs to assemble the proof they need, either for the merits or for class certification.

So. I guess we’ll see. Unless everything is shifted to arbitration, in which case, we won’t.

And another thing. On this week’s Shareholder Primacy podcast, Mike Levin and I talk about Duke Energy’s supermajority voting requirements and the attempts to change them. Here at Apple, here at Spotify, and here at Youtube.

We’re at about two months since the last update on this front, and I wanted to share my current chart for 2025. As always, if you know about any moves that I’ve missed, please reach out.

I’ve got updated charts, differences of opinion about how well-developed Nevada’s case law is, some highlights and confusion about the Glass Lewis blog post on reincorporation that dropped today, and a quick highlight of the Guess, Inc. proxy that revealed its board had voted to attempt to move to Nevada before a take-private offer arrived.

Nevada

Nevada had another two public companies announce attempts to move to Nevada, Algorhythm Holdings and Capstone Holding.

2025 Nevada Domicile Shifts
 FirmResultNotes
 1.Fidelity National FinancialPass 
 2.MSG SportsPass 
 3.MSG EntertainmentPass 
 4.Jade BiosciencesPassJade merged with Aerovate.
 5.BAIYU HoldingsPassAction by Written Consent
 6.RobloxPass 
 7.Sphere EntertainmentPass 
 8.AMC NetworksPass 
 9.Universal Logistics Holdings, Inc.PassAction by Written Consent
 10.Revelation BiosciencesFail97% of votes cast were for moving.  There “were 1,089,301 broker non-votes regarding this proposal”
 11.Eightco Holdings*
FailVotes were 608,460 in favor and 39,040 against with 763,342 broker non-votes.
The proposal was filed in 2024 and the vote results were announced in 2025. It’s on the list for now, but you could also count it in 2024.
 12.DropBoxPassAction by Written Consent
 13.Forward IndustriesFailThis is New York to Nevada. Votes were 427,661 for and 96,862 against with 214,063 Broker Non-Votes. Proposal did not obtain majority of outstanding shares.
 14.NuburuFail87% of the votes cast were in favor of the proposal.  11% against 1.6% Abstained. There were 12,250,658 Broker Non-Votes.
 15.Xoma RoyaltyPass 
 16.Tempus AIPass 
 17.AffirmPass 
 18.Liberty LivePendingThis is a split off from a Delaware entity to Nevada
 19.NetcapitalFailThis was a proposed move from Utah to Nevada. If failed with 541,055 votes in favor and 1,456,325 votes against.
 20.Algorhythm HoldingsPendingMeeting set for Nov. 20
 21.Capstone Holding CorpPendingMeeting set for Nov. 18

The Capstone Holding proxy contains this rationale for Nevada with an interesting bit bolded:

Nevada is a nationally-recognized leader in adopting and implementing comprehensive and flexible corporation laws that are frequently revised and updated to accommodate changing legal and business needs. In light of our growth, our Board believes that it will be beneficial to the Company and its stockholders to obtain the benefits of Nevada’s corporation laws. Nevada courts have developed considerable expertise in dealing with corporate legal issues and have produced a substantial body of case law construing Nevada corporation laws. Because the judicial system is based largely on legal precedents, the abundance of Nevada case law should serve to enhance the relative clarity and predictability of many areas of corporation law, and allow our Board and management to make business decisions and take corporate actions with greater assurance as to the validity and consequences of such decisions and actions.

This is not something I ordinarily hear about Nevada. My view is that our caselaw is somewhat limited, but that limitation is mitigated by our clear statute. Curious, I searched around on EDGAR and found a few other companies shifting to Nevada had used similar language in the past:

  • Intelligent Buying in 2020. This was a proposal to go from California to Nevada.
  • HFactor in 2023. This was a proposal to go from Georgia to Nevada.
  • Oracle Health in 2022. This was a conversion from Delaware to Nevada.

Notably, this language contrasts with Fidelity National Financial‘s proxy which stated:

Nevada case law concerning the application of its statutes and regulations is more limited than in Delaware due in part to Nevada’s more statute-focused approach. As a result, to the extent Nevada’s statutes do not provide a definitive answer and a Nevada court must make a determination about issues concerning the Company’s governance without clear guidance or precedent, the Company and its stockholders may experience less predictability with respect to whether certain corporate decisions or transactions are proper and/or the extent to which stockholders maintain the right to challenge such decisions or transactions.

Texas

Texas recently picked up United States Antimony Corporation from Montana.

2025 Texas Domicile Shifts
 FirmResultNotes
1.Zion Oil and GasPass 
2.Mercado LibreWithdrawn 
3.Dillard’sPass12,791,756 votes for and 1,477,174 votes against
4.United States Antimony CorporationPassShift from Montana to Texas. 20,626,385 votes in favor.  11,816,235 against. 35,888,464 broker non-votes.

Glass Lewis on Reincorporation

Earlier today, Glass Lewis released a blog post on reincorporation. I want to highlight a few findings and flag my concerns about the analysis on some points:

  • Reincorporation attempts are on the rise. Glass Lewis evaluated 29 proposals in 2025, a 70.06% increase from 17 proposals in 2024 and a 45% increase above the 20 proposals in 2023.
  • Controlled companies were much more likely to reincorporate. Glass Lewis found that 55% of the companies in their set had “significant or controlling shareholders”
  • Nevada surpassed Delaware as a reincorporation destination with 13 firms announcing for Nevada and 8 for Delaware.
  • “Delaware companies have faced an increasingly litigious environment where shareholder lawsuits and the amount of plaintiff fees awarded have increased.” 

All of these top-line findings make sene to me. I appreciate being able to see the Glass Lewis post as a way to cross-check my attempts to monitor this space. My largely hand-compiled set seems to have more firms than Glass Lewis. For example, Glass Lewis states:

While all but one reincorporation proposal from the 2025 proxy season was approved, average support for these proposals declined from 88.7% in 2024 to 81.1%. Revelation Biosciences was the only company that failed to receive majority support, with just 35% of the votes cast in favor and 60.9% abstaining.  The overall decline in shareholder support indicates that shareholders were more critical of these proposals than in past seasons, particularly when the company proposed to leave Delaware.

This gave me pause for two reasons: (1) I don’t think that is correct factually; and (2) I have four other failed votes on my list, Eightco Holdings, Nuburu, Netcapital, and Forward Industries. Let’s run through my quibbles.

(1) The Math Seems Wrong

This is the Revelation Bioscience 8-K announcing results. Here is how it presents the vote information:

My calculation had 97% of the votes cast being in favor of the proposal. There were 2,956,575 votes in favor, 73,597 against, and 20,134 abstain. There were also 1,089,301 broker non-votes. Technically my math came out to 96.92716075% in favor. I’m not confident relying on the Glass Lewis post to conclude that shareholders are growing more critical of these proposals. It wasn’t just 35% of the votes cast that were in favor in Revelation Biosciences, it was about 97% of the votes cast being in favor. It didn’t pass because of the large number of broker non-votes.

(2) There Are Other Failed Votes

Here, I have five failed votes in 2025. It could be four total if you count Eightco in 2024. But I just don’t think it’s right.

  • Eightco could go in 2024 or 2025 as the proposal came in December 2024 and the vote result came out in January 2025. I have it on my list, but it could just as easily be excluded.
  • Nuburu held their meeting on July 9, 2025, and the results came out on July 14, 2025.
  • Netcapital held its meeting on September 11, 2025, and the results came out on September 12, 2025.
  • Forward Industries had results come out on August 12, 2025. Although it got a majority of votes cast, it did not win a majority of outstanding shares.

It may just be that I’m trying to catch anything that pops up on EDGAR and Glass Lewis is using a more limited set of companies on this one.

Other Concerns with Glass Lewis Post

But there are a few other things that jumped out at me as well: (1) Their charts seem to miss more reincorporation proposals; (2) the Nevada description isn’t quite right; and (3) it omits the Delaware Supreme Court opinion in Maffei.

(1) The Chart Omits Proposals

I haven’t tried to catch every reincorporation this year, so I don’t have a complete dataset here, but I think their chart on companies moving does not include all the 2025 action. Here, Glass Lewis has two companies attempting to go to Texas and I’ve got four. I also haven’t tried to track everything, just companies going to Nevada or Texas. This is the Glass Lewis chart:

It may be that Glass Lewis has their own internal definition for the 2025 Proxy Season and that their set is only capturing that information. It’s not explicit in the post, so that may explain the differences.

(2) Nevada Has Long Had A Specialized Business Court

I also want to drop a note about this line in the Glass Lewis post that could be read as indicating Nevada just now established a specialized business court.

Nevada’s amendments included: defining controlling shareholders and the fiduciary duties of controllers, establishing safe harbors in conflicted transactions, making certain adjustments to Nevada’s statutory business judgment rule, and establishing a specialized business court.  

Here, I want to add a footnote that Nevada already has a specialized business court. It’s a business court docket handled by a subset of Nevada’s elected judges. The business court judges are currently selected by the Chief Judges in Clark and Washoe county from among the pool of elected judges. In the 2025 session, Nevada achieved first passage for a constitutional amendment to authorize the creation of an appointed business court. We also have a recently formed Judicial Commission to look at reorganizing and modernizing the existing business court.

(3) The Most Relevant Maffei Decision Came From Delaware’s Supreme Court

The Glass Lewis post states that:

recently the Delaware Court of Chancery and Delaware’s Supreme Court issued certain decisions on cases, specifically Maffei v. Palkon (TripAdvisor) and Tornetta v. Musk (Tesla), which were viewed as unfavorable toward controlling shareholders.

It is true that the Chancery decision in Maffei was not all that long ago. But the Glass Lewis post cites to a March 2024 Chancery opinion denying Maffei’s request for an interlocutory appeal. It does not mention that the underlying decision was reversed by the Delaware Supreme Court and that the controlling decision on the issue is now this February 2025 Delaware Supreme Court decision.

Guess, Inc.

Although I didn’t add it to the chart, Guess, Inc. also recently revealed that it had planned to propose a move to Nevada before a take-private offer arrived. On October 3, it put out a preliminary proxy statement with some interesting disclosures:

In August 2024, the Guess Board created a committee of the Guess Board comprised solely of independent and disinterested directors to evaluate a potential redomestication of Guess to a jurisdiction outside of Delaware (the “Redomestication Committee”). Willkie Farr and Gallagher LLP (“Willkie”) was retained by the Redomestication Committee as its legal counsel.

In November 2024, WHP approached Paul Marciano and Carlos Alberini regarding a potential strategic transaction involving Guess.. . .

In early February 2025, following months of deliberation, the Redomestication Committee of the Guess Board recommended, and the Guess Board resolved, that it was in the best interests of Guess and its stockholders for Guess to redomesticate to Nevada.

On March 13, 2025, the Guess Board received a letter from WHP. . . containing a non-binding proposal to acquire the outstanding shares of Guess Common Stock . . .

Following receipt of the WHP Proposal, the Redomestication Committee ceased consideration of a potential redomestication of Guess, and no such redomestication was ever effectuated.

What interests me about this is the timeline when companies consider whether they want to shift from one jurisdiction to another. It appears that Guess ran a seven-month process with an independent committee and counsel to evaluate the options. What we don’t know is the reasons the committee and board had for picking Nevada. Corporations often give different reasons in their proxy statements and it has been interesting to follow their rationales.