July 31, 2006
Willkie corporate lawyers and litigators score significant victories on behalf of hedge fund Third Point LLC in proxy contest and subsequent court challenge brought by Massey Energy Company.
Willkie corporate lawyers and litigators recently scored significant victories on behalf of hedge fund Third Point LLC in a proxy contest and subsequent court challenge brought by Massey Energy Company. In the proxy contest, Third Point sought two of three open seats in a contest with cumulative voting. After the meeting was held and proxy challenges were completed, the independent inspectors of the election certified that Third Point had won both seats, but Massey challenged Third Point’s cumulation strategy in the Delaware Chancery Court. In settling the litigation it had brought, Baldwin v. Swanson, Massey accepted the certified results of the election and further agreed to reimburse Third Point for $750,000 of legal fees incurred in connection with the proxy contest and the subsequent litigation. This is the second successful proxy contest (out of two) that the firm has run over the past year for Third Point. Michael Schwartz, Tariq Mundiya, Lisa Bentley and Matthew Guercio jointly handled the proxy contest, the challenge process and the litigation.
