Trump SEC Curbs on Small Investor Campaigns Face Court Scrutiny

Activist investors fighting 2020 SEC rules limiting campaigns from small shareholders faced a judge’s scrutiny on Monday over their legal strategy in a four-year-old case challenging regulations that they say curb ESG activism.

Judge Reggie B. Walton of the US District Court for the District of Columbia asked during a hearing why the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility didn’t request a ruling on its claim the Securities and Exchange Commission regulations targeted shareholders’ environmental, social, and governance campaigns when the investor advocate sought an end to the litigation in 2021.

The center initially made the ESG-related claim when it ...