As Governor Christie's final term came to a close on January 16th, he signed into law several bills proposed by the state Assembly relating to day-to-day corporate governance. The new laws impact mergers and consolidations and drafting considerations for corporate bylaws and certificates of incorporation, among other things, and amend portions of N.J.S.A. 14A as described in more detail below.
- alter or change the amount or kind of consideration to be received by the shareholders of the corporation;
- alter or change any term of the certificate of incorporation of the surviving corporation; or
- unless the plan of merger or consolidation expressly provides otherwise, alter or change any of the terms and conditions of the plan, in a manner that would materially and adversely affect the shareholders of either corporation who are or were entitled to vote on the plan.
2. Selection of New Jersey as Forum in Bylaws: P.L.
2017, c.356 (N.J. A2162 and S2234)
N.J.S.A. 14A:2-9 was amended to permit corporations to expressly
include a forum selection provision in their bylaws. Under this
law, bylaws may state that the New Jersey federal and state courts
will be the sole and exclusive forum for certain actions, including
derivative 2 actions, shareholder suits alleging a breach of a
fiduciary duty by an officer or director, shareholder suits
alleging a violation of the New Jersey Business Corporation Act by
the corporation or its officers or directors, and "any other
claim brought by one or more shareholders which is governed by the
internal affairs or an analogous doctrine."
In the event that such a suit is brought in contravention to the forum selection provision, the shareholder bringing such a suit may be liable for reasonable costs incurred in enforcing the provision.
3. Applicability of Law to Derivative Proceedings and
Shareholder Class Actions: P.L. 2017, c.362 (N.J. A2970 and
S2236)
Prior to the passage of this law, the New Jersey Business
Corporation Act provisions relating to derivative proceedings and
shareholder class actions, located at N.J.S.A. 14A:3-6.1 through
3-6.9, were applicable to a corporation only if the certificate of
incorporation provided as such. Now, N.J.S.A. 14A:3-6.1 through
14A:3-6.6 are applicable by default, and these provisions may only
be varied by the terms of a corporation's certificate of
incorporation.
4. Electronic Transmission of Consents of Boards of
Directors: P.L. 2017, c.363 (N.J. A2971 and S2235)
N.J.S.A. 14A:6-7.1 was amended to expressly permit directors to
consent to action without a meeting via electronic transmission.
This brings New Jersey into line with states like Delaware by
expressly recognizing the validity of using technology to
facilitate the process for obtaining unanimous board and board
committee consents.
5. Permitted Limitations to Shareholder Nominations in
Proxy Solicitations: P.L. 2017, c.299 (N.J. A2973 and
S2239)
N.J.S.A Title 14A, chapter 5, has been supplemented, and now
permits a corporation to impose conditions in its bylaws on the
inclusion in the corporation's proxy statements of materials
pertaining to shareholder-nominated individuals for election to the
corporation's board of directors. The statute provides a
non-comprehensive list of examples of such conditions or
restrictions. These include:
- requiring the nominating shareholder to own a minimum level of beneficial ownership of shares in the corporation's voting stock;
- requiring a minimum duration of ownership of such shares;
- limiting the nomination of previously-nominated individuals;
- limiting the number of shareholder-nominated directors for meetings in which directors will be elected; and
- requiring nominating shareholders to first submit certain specified information about the shareholder and the shareholder nominee.
6. Shareholder Access to Books and Records: P.L. 2017,
c.364 (N.J. A2975 and S2238)
Acknowledging that documents may be disseminated more rapidly and
easily in the information age, N.J.S.A. 14A:5-28 now allows
corporations to "impose reasonable limitations or conditions
on the use or distribution of requested materials provided to a
demanding shareholder . . . ." It is not clear from the text
what constitutes "reasonable limitations or conditions,"
though a statement accompanying N.J. A2975 advised that the intent
is not to deny shareholders access to information, but rather to
acknowledge and permit an already-common practice among
corporations of requiring shareholders to agree to confidentiality
obligations as a condition to access to the materials.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.