Chamber Challenges SEC Proxy Firm Rules in Sixth Circuit Appeal

May 4, 2023, 3:14 PM UTC

The US Chamber of Commerce and other business groups appealed an SEC court victory that had reversed Trump-era curbs on firms that guide investors’ votes at annual meetings.

The organizations, including the Business Roundtable, in a Wednesday court filing informed Judge Aleta Trauger of the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee that they’re challenging her April 24 decision upholding the Securities and Exchange Commission regulations on giving proxy advice. The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit will rule on the appeal.

“There is no basis for the SEC to relax accountability and transparency measures for these unregulated, third-party entities,” Business Roundtable CEO Joshua Bolten said in a statement Thursday.

The SEC last year eased the 2020 restrictions on Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., Glass, Lewis & Co., and other proxy firms, drawing lawsuits led by the Chamber and National Association of Manufacturers.

The manufacturers’ case is pending in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit after a judge in Texas also upheld the updated regulations.

An SEC representative declined to comment.

The case is Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America v. SEC, M.D. Tenn., No. 3:22-cv-00561, notice of appeal filed 5/3/23.


To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Ramonas in Washington at aramonas@bloomberglaw.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeff Harrington at jharrington@bloombergindustry.com; Michael Ferullo at mferullo@bloomberglaw.com

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