In the first Trump Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission promulgated certain rules that had the effect of erecting barriers to activist investors seeking to have shareholder proposals--often involving topics of social or environmental concern--considered by corporations. Specifically, the SEC mandated that shareholders had to satisfy higher thresholds--e.g., a longer time period holding the stock, and a larger ownership share--in order to submit proposals (as well as a higher threshold of support for a proposal to be re-submitted). Overall, these regulations were designed to enable corporations to more easily dispose of shareholder proposals proffered by activist investors.

After four years of litigation, a federal district court judge granted summary judgment in favor of

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