By Nate Raymond
NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Apple Inc on Wednesday was hit
by another shareholder lawsuit, a case that is similar to the
court challenge that star hedge fund manager David Einhorn
brought as part of his push to unlock the company's cash hoard.
The new lawsuit, filed by an investor from Pennsylvania in
U.S. District Court in New York, seeks to block Apple from
moving forward with a Feb. 27 shareholder vote on two proxy
proposals.
One of the proposals is the same measure Einhorn targeted
that would eliminate from the company charter Apple's ability to
issue preferred stock.
The other, which was not part of Einhorn's case, involves an
advisory "say-on-pay" vote for shareholders to weigh in on
Apple's executive compensation. The lawsuit accuses the iPhone
maker of failing to disclose details of how it determined top
executives' pay.
The plaintiff is Brian Gralnick of Elkins Park,
Pennsylvania. He has been an Apple shareholder since 2007, the
lawsuit said. It does not list the size of his stake.
"The case has some overlap with the Einhorn case, but it is
a broader case," said Arnold Gershon, a lawyer for Gralnick at
the law firm Barrack, Rodos & Bacine.
An Apple spokesman had no immediate comment.
Gershon also said his client would seek to be heard at a
Feb. 19 hearing in Einhorn's lawsuit.
Einhorn and his Greenlight Capital sued Apple on Thursday in
the same court as part of a bigger effort to get the company to
share more of its $137 billion pile of cash and marketable
securities with investors.
He accuses Apple of violating a Securities and Exchange
Commission rule prohibiting companies from "bundling" unrelated
matters into one proposal for a shareholder vote.
Apple was due to file court papers replying to Einhorn's
case by the end of the day. On Tuesday, Apple Chief Executive
Tim Cook said the board was considering Einhorn's proposal for
the company to issue preferred stock and return more cash to
investors, but he called the court challenge "a silly sideshow."
The claim of inadequate executive pay disclosure in
Wednesday's case follows other lawsuits in recent months filed
against companies seeking injunctions ahead of say-on-pay votes.
The cases have been met with varied success.
In the Apple case, the plaintiff says shareholders do not
have adequate information to make a decision on executive pay at
the company and he is seeking an injunction against the vote.
The case is Gralnick v. Apple Inc, U.S. District Court,
Southern District of New York, 13-0976.
For Brian Gralnick: Arnold Gershon, Barrack, Rodos & Bacine.
For Apple: Unknown.
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