Everyone’s Suing the SEC

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Is Anyone Not Suing the SEC?

The SEC’s new emissions disclosure rules seem to have irked pretty much everyone, from environmental groups like The Sierra Club, who are currently suing over what they see as the rules’ relative leniency, to gas companies like Liberty Energy and Nomad Proppant Services, who are also currently suing over the rules’ supposed severity. The latter suit is already gaining traction in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals: on Tuesday, the court granted the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary stay on the new rules.

Lawyers for the SEC have pointed out that this is sort of unnecessary, since the rules don’t even require any disclosures from public companies until March of 2026, but, for these two companies, a win is a win.

The Chamber of Commerce is also suing the SEC over the new rules, as are the Republican attorneys general of 10 states, in an attempt to defend the energy sector against what they see as undue oversight.

Gensler Weighs In

SEC honcho Gary Gensler has his hands full these days (in part thanks to the sudden return of crypto), but in a recent appearance on CNBC, he took a moment to offer some perspective on his agency’s new climate disclosure rules.

Said Gensler: “The sec is merit-neutral. We’re agnostic with regard to climate risk itself. But we have a role to play about disclosures made by companies… It’s grounded in materiality, a multi-decade-old concept that companies disclose that which a reasonable investor would consider, amongst the total mix of information, in making an investment decision or voting. It’s not about the climate itself.”

That is to say, the current implementation of these disclosure rules is more meant to put investors at ease than to control whether firms go long on green. Diplomatic as ever—though it doesn’t seem to have put litigants at ease.

Crouching Iger Hidden Dragon

As Disney faces a tough proxy challenge from two activist investors, current CEO Bob Iger is gathering a few big names in his corner. Among them are JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, who called Iger a “a first-class executive and outstanding leader,” and the filmmaker George Lucas, who created and then sold the Star Wars franchise to Disney in 2012. “Creating magic is not for amateurs,” said Lucas, per the Wall Street Journal. “I have voted all of my shares for Disney’s 12 directors and urge other shareholders to do the same.”

Nelson Peltz’s firm Trian Partners is looking for two board seats at the media giant, while a separate firm, Blackwells Capital, wants three seats; by the shareholder meeting on April 3, one estimate suggests these three parties could spend more than $70 million, making this the single costliest proxy battle ever.