District Court Dismisses Shareholder Claim That Equity Award Share Withholding Triggers Section 16(b) Liability

By on August 22, 2017

A United States District Court recently dismissed a claim that an insider’s election to satisfy an income tax obligation by having shares withheld from the delivery of an award constituted a non-exempt sale of shares back to the issuer for purposes of Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( Exchange Act), unless the share withholding was required, rather than merely permitted. While an encouraging development, this decision is now on appeal to the Fifth Circuit and there are similar unresolved complaints in other jurisdictions. Until this matter is resolved, public companies should continue to consider what steps are appropriate to avoid Section 16 exposure and to review this situation with their executive officers.

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Andrew Liazos
Andrew C. Liazos is the global chair of McDermott’s Benefits & Compensation Practice Group and has practiced at McDermott for over 25 years. Andrew focuses his practice on compensation and benefit matters, including related securities, M&A, IPO, private equity, international and litigation matters. Clients range from Fortune 500 companies to compensation committees to individual executives in employment and severance negotiations. Read Andrew Liazos' full bio.

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