| Page 90 556 F.2d 90
Fed. Sec. L. Rep. P 96,068
GENERAL AIRCRAFT CORPORATION,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Irwin S. LAMPERT et al.,
Defendants-Appellants. No. 76-1452. United States Court of Appeals,
First Circuit. Argued Nov. 5, 1976.
Decided May 26, 1977.
Page 91
Irwin Lampert, New York City,
with whom Lampert & Schneider, P.C., Eugene
Wallman, New York City, and Gabriel Robert
Caggiano, Boston, Mass., were on brief, for
defendants-appellants.
Theodore E. Dinsmoor, with whom
Gaston Snow & Ely Bartlett, Boston, Mass.,
were on brief, for plaintiff-appellee.
Before COFFIN, Chief Judge,
CAMPBELL, Circuit Judge, and GIGNOUX,
* District Judge.
GIGNOUX, District Judge.
This is an appeal from an order
of the District Court granting a preliminary
injunction against appellants for failure to
comply with the disclosure provisions of
Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 (the 1934 Act), 48 Stat. 894, as
added by Section 2 of the Williams Act, 82
Stat. 454, as amended, 84 Stat. 1497, 15
U.S.C. § 78m(d) (1971).
I.
Appellee, General Aircraft
Corporation (GAC), is a publicly-held
corporation primarily engaged in the
manufacture and sale of a type of short
take-off and landing light aircraft known
generally in the aviation industry as
"STOL". Its principal place of business is
located in Bedford, Massachusetts. As of
March 31, 1976, GAC had 1,243,742 shares of
common stock outstanding. The shares of GAC
common stock are held of record by
approximately 3,000 stockholders and are
registered under Section 12 of the 1934 Act,
15 U.S.C. § 78l.
Page 92
On October 30, 1974, the three
individual appellants, Irwin S. Lampert,
Leonard Levy and Paul Scuderi, purchased a
total of 150,485 shares of GAC common stock.
Levy acquired 75,485 shares, Lampert and
Scuderi 37,500 shares each. Lampert's and
Scuderi's shares were all held in Lampert's
name. These acquisitions constituted more
than 12% of GAC's outstanding common shares.
Appellants were therefore required to comply
with the disclosure provisions of Section
13(d) of the Williams Act and its
implementing regulations by filing a
Schedule 13D with GAC and the Securities and
Exchange Commission within ten days.
1 Appellants did not,
however, file a Schedule 13D. On December
31, 1974, Lampert and Scuderi each acquired
an additional 2800 shares of GAC common
stock. Appellants still, however, did not
file a Schedule 13D within ten days of these
acquisitions. Finally, on January 31, 1975,
Lampert filed a Schedule 13D on behalf of
all three appellants. The Schedule 13D thus
filed stated "the purpose of the transaction
was for investment purposes and not to
acquire control of the business of the
issuer."
For the next year and a half
appellants clashed with GAC's management. By
letter dated April 29, 1975, Lampert
proposed the enlargement of GAC's Board of
Directors from five to seven members, the
inclusion of Lampert, Levy and a designee of
Levy's on the Board, the retirement of the
then Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
and other changes in GAC's corporate
structure and business. Appellants next
threatened to solicit proxies in opposition
to management's nominees for election
Page 93 as directors at the 1975 annual stockholders
meeting. To avoid a proxy contest, GAC's
management agreed to enlarge the Board of
Directors from five to seven members and to
recommend the election of Lampert and Levy
as directors. On July 1, 1975, at the annual
stockholders meeting, Lampert and Levy's
nominees were elected directors along with
five management representatives. Thereafter,
appellants continued to propose drastic
changes regarding the business and corporate
structure of GAC, including the exploration
of merger possibilities and the sale of the
company's assets. In early 1976 appellants
began to enlist prospective nominees for a
dissident slate of directors to be proposed
at the 1976 annual stockholders meeting. In
April 1976 Lampert requested GAC's
stockholders list for the purpose of
soliciting proxies to elect representatives
to the Board of Directors. On May 13, 1976,
faced with the threat of a proxy contest to
oust management at the 1976 annual
stockholders meeting to be held in July, GAC
filed a complaint in the United States
District Court for the District of
Massachusetts charging, inter alia,
2 that appellants had
violated Section 13(d) of the Williams Act
first by failing to file the required
Schedule 13D and then by filing a false one.
GAC also filed a motion for a preliminary
injunction pending a full hearing on the
merits.
On June 16, 1976 the District
Court held a hearing on GAC's motion for a
preliminary injunction. After consideration
of the verified complaint and answer, and
various affidavits and depositions submitted
by GAC in support of its motion, the court
concluded that (1) in acquiring more than
five percent of GAC's common stock on
October 30, 1974, appellants acted as a
"group" within the meaning of Section
13(d)(3)
3 and
hence were required to file a Schedule 13D
within ten days thereafter; (2) appellants
violated Section 13(d) by not filing a
timely Schedule 13D; and (3) appellants
further violated Section 13(d) by filing an
inaccurate and misleading Schedule 13D
stating that the acquisition of the shares
was for the purpose of investment only and
not for the purpose of acquiring control.
Finding that it was likely that GAC would
prevail on the merits and that "investing
persons who hold shares in (GAC) and
potential shareholders," though not
necessarily the corporation itself, had
demonstrated irreparable harm, the court
determined that a preliminary injunction
should issue. After separately considering
the scope of relief at a second hearing on
August 26, 1976, the court issued a
preliminary injunction enjoining appellants
from: (1) further violating Section 13(d);
(2) failing to amend the inaccurate Schedule
13D filed January 31, 1975; (3) acquiring
further shares of GAC common stock or
soliciting proxies or consents from GAC
stockholders until their Schedule 13D was
amended to reflect their intentions with
respect to control of GAC's Board of
Directors and changes in its business and
corporate structure; and (4) voting any GAC
stock or proxies or consents at the 1976
annual meeting of stockholders. The
preliminary injunction was conditioned upon
GAC furnishing a bond in the amount of
$10,000 for the payment of costs and damages
incurred by any party found to have been
wrongfully enjoined.
On this appeal appellants
challenge the District Court's finding that
their activities violated Section 13(d) and
contend that the court erred in granting the
preliminary injunction.
4
After a careful scrutiny of the
Page 94 record, we are satisfied that the findings
of the District Court and the order issuing
the preliminary injunction were proper in
all respects save one appellants should not
have been enjoined from voting their own
legally acquired shares of GAC common stock
at the 1976 annual meeting of stockholders.
5
II.
Before considering the claims of
errors separately, a brief review of the
history and purposes of the Williams Act,
and particularly of Section 13(d), is
appropriate. The Williams Act was the
legislative response to a gap in the federal
securities laws which permitted cash tender
offers and other acquisitions resulting in
shifts of corporate control to occur without
adequate disclosure of information to
investors. H.R.Rep. No. 1711, 90th Cong., 2d
Sess., 1968 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News, pp.
2811, 2812-14. Although the rush of tender
offers in the 1960s received the greatest
Congressional attention, the Williams Act
covers a broader range of possible shifts in
control:
The Bill before you deals with stock
acquisitions in three specific contexts
first, the acquisition by means of a cash
tender offer of more than (5 percent) of any
class of stock of a publicly held company;
second, other acquisitions by any person or
group of more than (5 percent) of any class
of stock of a publicly held company; and
third, the repurchase by a corporation of
its own outstanding shares.
S.Rep. No. 550, 90th Cong., 1st
Sess. 16, 33 (1967) (remarks of then
Chairman Cohen). Section 13(d) is concerned
with the second type of stock acquisition,
requiring after-the-fact disclosure of
substantial open market accumulations of
securities within a relatively short period
of time. H.R.Rep. No. 1711, 1968 U.S.Code
Cong. & Admin.News at 2818. Essentially,
Section 13(d) requires any person, or group
of persons, after acquiring more than five
percent of a class of registered equity
securities, to send to the issuer and the
exchanges on which the securities are traded
and file with the Commission the statement
required by the Act, disclosing, among other
things, the identity of the persons filing,
the number of shares owned by them, the
source of the funds used to purchase the
shares, and the purpose of the purchase.
6 Although such
disclosure may greatly affect the internal
distribution of corporate power, Congress
was careful to avoid tipping the balance of
federal regulation in favor of either
management or those attempting a change in
corporate control; the balance was struck in
favor of allowing investors to be informed
of potential changes in corporate control
and permitting the market to value the
shares accordingly. See generally Note,
Section 13(d) and Disclosure of Corporate
Equity Ownership, 119 U.Pa.L.Rev. 853
(1971); James J. Moylan, Exploring the
Tender Offer Provisions of the Federal
Securities Laws, 43 Geo.Wash.L.Rev. 551,
558-59 (1975). As the Supreme Court has
recently had occasion to observe
Rondeau v. Mosinee Paper Corp., 422 U.S. 49,
58-59, 95 S.Ct. 2069, 2075, 45 L.Ed.2d 12
(1975):
The purpose of the Williams Act is to
insure that public shareholders who are
confronted with a cash tender offer for
their stock will not be required to respond
without adequate information regarding
Page 95 the qualifications and intentions of the
offering party. By requiring disclosure of
information to the target corporation as
well as the Securities and Exchange
Commission, Congress intended to do no more
than give incumbent management an
opportunity to express and explain its
position. The Congress expressly disclaimed
an intention to provide a weapon for
management to discourage takeover bids or
prevent large accumulations of stock which
would create the potential for such
attempts. Indeed, the Act's draftsmen
commented upon the "extreme care" which was
taken "to avoid tipping the balance of
regulation either in favor of management or
in favor of the person making the takeover
bid." S.Rep. No. 550, 90th Cong., 1st Sess.,
3 (1967); H.R.Rep. No. 1711, 90th Cong., 2d
Sess., 5 (1968).
Electronic Specialty Co. v. International
Controls Corp.,
409 F.2d 937, 947 (CA2 1969)
(footnote omitted).
Rondeau thus makes clear that the
Williams Act was not intended to be used by
management to draw the federal courts into
factional intracorporate disputes, so long
as the interests of all investors are
adequately protected.
III.
Appellants' attack upon the
District Court's finding of a Section 13(d)
violation need not detain us long. We find
no error in the court's conclusion that at
the time they first acquired 12 percent of
GAC's common stock on October 30, 1974, the
three individual appellants acted as a
"group" within the meaning of Section
13(d)(3) and were therefore subject to the
reporting requirements of the Act. Section
13(d)(3) provides that "(w)hen two or more
persons act as a partnership, limited
partnership, syndicate, or other group for
the purpose of acquiring, holding, or
disposing of securities of an issuer, such
syndicate or group shall be deemed a
'person' for the purposes of (Section
13(d))." 15 U.S.C. § 78m(d)(3). The evidence
upon which the District Court predicated its
finding included: the 150,485 shares of GAC
common stock were acquired simultaneously in
identical transactions (except for amount)
by all three appellants; Scuderi's shares
were held in Lampert's name from the time of
purchase; a single Schedule 13D was filed on
behalf of all three appellants and signed by
all three; copies of correspondence with GAC
from any one appellant were sent to the
others. On this record, the District Court
could not have concluded other than that the
three appellants constituted a "group" and
thus, as a "person," were subject to the
provisions of Section 13(d).
7
This finding, of course, merely requires
that the statutory disclosure obligation be
determined by reference to the group
holdings rather than individual ownership.
8 As noted
earlier, there is no dispute that the
Schedule 13D was filed approximately three
months after the date required by statute.
We also conclude that the
District Court did not err in finding, for
purposes of preliminary relief, that
appellants' Schedule 13D was inaccurate and
misleading in stating that the purchase of
shares was for the purpose of investment
rather than acquisition
Page 96 of control. The word "control," though not
defined in the statute, is given a broad
definition in the regulations:
The term "control" (including the terms
"controlling", "controlled by" and "under
common control with") means the possession,
directly or indirectly, of the power to
direct or cause the direction of the
management and policies of a person, whether
through the ownership of voting securities,
by contract, or otherwise. 17 C.F.R. §
12b-2(f), made applicable to Schedule 13D
filings by 17 C.F.R. § 240.12b-1.
Graphic
Sciences v. International Mogul Mines, 397
F.Supp. 112, 124-25 (D.D.C.1974). The
activities of appellants detailed above
amply support the District Court's
conclusion that appellants' purpose in
acquiring the GAC shares was to acquire "the
power to direct or cause the direction of
the management and policies" of GAC. The
Schedule 13D was therefore inaccurate and
misleading as of the date it was filed.
Sonesta International Hotels Corp. v.
Wellington Associates, 483 F.2d 247 (2d Cir.
1973) with
Susquehanna Corp. v. Pan American Sulphur
Co., 423 F.2d 1075 (5th Cir. 1970).
9
We affirm the District Court's
finding that appellants violated Section
13(d) by failing to file a timely Schedule
13D and then by filing a false one.
IV.
Having determined that the
District Court did not err in finding a
Section 13(d) violation, we reach the
separate and distinct question of
appropriate relief. We are guided by the
recent Supreme Court decision in Rondeau v.
Mosinee Paper Corp., supra at 64-65, 95
S.Ct. at 2079:
Mills (v. Electric Auto-Lite Co., 396
U.S. 375, 90 S.Ct. 616, 24 L.Ed.2d 593
(1970)) could not be plainer in holding that
the questions of liability and relief are
separate in private actions under the
securities laws, and that the latter is to
be determined according to traditional
principles. Thus, the fact that respondent
is pursuing a course of action which has
been generally recognized to serve the
public interest provides no basis for
concluding that it is relieved of showing
irreparable harm and other usual
prerequisites for injunctive relief.
(emphasis supplied)
In Rondeau, the Supreme Court
explicitly rejected the argument that a
violation of the Williams Act, without more,
justifies the issuance of an injunction; in
accordance with traditional equitable
principles a showing of irreparable harm
must be made. Id. at 60-65, 95 S.Ct. 2069.
The only irreparable harm alleged
by GAC in its complaint is the failure to
receive information mandated by Section
13(d).
10 The
District Court found that "not necessarily
the plaintiff corporation but the investing
persons who hold shares in that corporation
and potential shareholders in that
corporation" had demonstrated irreparable
harm sufficient to warrant the issuance of a
preliminary injunction. As the
Page 97 very raison d'etre of Section 13(d) was
thwarted by appellants' continued failure to
disclose the statutorily required
information, we discover no error in the
decision that irreparable injury would occur
to shareholders and the investing public if
appellants were allowed to continue their
activities without correcting and amplifying
their Schedule 13D. We therefore affirm the
order granting the preliminary injunction
insofar as it enjoined appellants from
further violations of Section 13(d), from
failing to amend their inaccurate Schedule
13D, and from acquiring further shares of
GAC common stock or soliciting proxies or
consents from GAC stockholders until the
Schedule 13D is amended to reflect
accurately their intentions.
Bath Industries v. Blot, 427 F.2d 97, 113
(7th Cir. 1970); Graphic Sciences v.
International Mogul Mines,supra at 128;
Jewelcor v. Pearlman,
397 F.Supp. 221, 253
(S.D.N.Y.1975);
Corenco Corp. v. Schiavone & Sons, 488 F.2d
207, 214-15 (2d Cir. 1973.)
We are disturbed, however, by the
conclusion that irreparable harm would
result if appellants were not enjoined from
voting their stock at the 1976 GAC annual
stockholders meeting.
11
We are unable to discern that failure to
enjoin appellants from voting their stock at
the annual meeting would have resulted in
irreparable injury to either of the two
groups singled out by the trial court
existing GAC shareholders and potential
shareholders. Investors who bought or sold
GAC stock at an unfair price or in reliance
upon the inaccurate Schedule 13D have an
adequate remedy at law by way of an action
for damages, thereby negating their
entitlement to equitable relief. Rondeau,
supra at 60, 95 S.Ct. 2069.
12
Similarly, absent an imminent contest for
control, the fact that existing stockholders
retained the benefit of their stock made the
possibility of damage to them remote at
best. Idem.
Missouri Portland Cement Co. v. H. K. Porter
Co., 535 F.2d 388, 398-99 (8th Cir. 1976).
Although a proxy contest had been threatened
prior to the 1976 annual meeting, enjoining
appellants from acquiring additional GAC
stock or from soliciting proxies or consents
prior to amendment of their Schedule 13D
adequately protected both continuing
stockholders and potential investors from
any possible harm.
Flexibility rather than rigidity
has distinguished equity practice over the
years, and "(t)he historic injunctive
process was designed to deter, not to
punish."
Hecht Co. v. Bowles, 321 U.S. 321, 329, 64
S.Ct. 587, 592, 88 L.Ed. 754 (1944),
quoted with approval in Rondeau, supra at
61, 95 S.Ct. 2069. Appellants' stock was
acquired legally more than a year prior to
the filing of the present action. Investors
are entitled to the legitimate fruits of
their investment. Graphic Sciences v.
International Mogul Mines, supra at 128. In
the circumstances disclosed by this record,
sterilization of appellants' legally
acquired shares would be punishment, not
deterrence, since it would deprive
appellants of previously acquired voting
rights without sound reason. While it may be
appropriate for the courts to enjoin the
voting of shares rapidly acquired just
before a contest for control following a
Section 13(d) violation, see Rondeau, supra
at 59, n.9, 95 S.Ct. 2069, absent a clear
showing of irreparable injury,
disenfranchisement should not extend to
prior holdings legally acquired. See
Jewelcor v. Pearlman, supra at 252-53;
Graphic Sciences
Page 98 v. International Mogul Mines, supra at
128-29;
Committee for New Management of Butler
Aviation v. Widmark, 335 F.Supp. 146, 155
(E.D.N.Y.1971);
Ozark Airlines v. Cox, 326 F.Supp. 1113,
1119-20 (E.D.Mo.1971). Cf. Missouri
Portland Cement Co. v. H. K. Porter Co.,
supra at 399-400 (Section 14(d) and (e)
violations);
Electronic Specialty Co. v. International
Controls Corp.,
409 F.2d 937, 947-48 (2d
Cir. 1969) (Section 14(d) and (e)
violations);
Chris-Craft Industries v. Piper Aircraft
Corp., 480 F.2d 341, 380 (2d Cir.),
cert. denied, 414 U.S. 910, 94 S.Ct. 231, 38
L.Ed.2d 148 (1973) (five-year injunction
against voting only those shares illegally
obtained through cash purchases after
Section 14(e) violation), appeal after
remand, 516 F.2d 172, 192-94 (2d Cir. 1975),
rev'd on other grounds,
430 U.S. 1, 97 S.Ct.
926, 51 L.Ed.2d 124 (1977).
Twin Fair v. Reger, 394 F.Supp. 156, 161
(W.D.N.Y.1975); Water & Wall Associates
v. American Consumer Industries, CCH
Fed.Sec.L.Rep. (1973 Decisions) P 93,943 at
93,759-60 (D.N.J.1973).
We conclude that GAC has failed
to show such irreparable injury as would
support disenfranchisement of appellants'
legally acquired shares. We therefore hold
that the District Court abused its
discretion by enjoining appellants from
voting their stock at the GAC 1976 annual
meeting of stockholders.
Affirmed in part; reversed in
part; and remanded for proceedings
consistent with this opinion.
* Of the District of Maine, sitting by
designation.
1 Section 13(d) as amended provides in
relevant part:
(d)(1) Any person who, after acquiring
directly or indirectly the beneficial
ownership of any equity security of a class
which is registered pursuant to section 78l
of this title, or any equity security of an
insurance company which would have been
required to be so registered except for the
exemption contained in section 78l (g)(2)(G)
of this title, or any equity security issued
by a closed-end investment company
registered under the Investment Company Act
of 1940, is directly or indirectly the
beneficial owner of more than 5 per centum
of such class shall, within ten days after
such acquisition, send to the issuer of the
security at its principal executive office,
by registered or certified mail, send to
each exchange where the security is traded,
and file with the Commission, a statement
containing such of the following
information, and such additional
information, as the Commission may by rules
and regulations prescribe as necessary or
appropriate in the public interest or for
the protection of investors
(A) the background and identity of all
persons by whom or on whose behalf the
purchases have been or are to be effected;
(B) the source and amount of the funds or
other consideration used or to be used in
making the purchases, and if any part of the
purchase price or proposed purchase price is
represented or is to be represented by funds
or other consideration borrowed or otherwise
obtained for the purpose of acquiring,
holding, or trading such security, a
description of the transaction and the names
of the parties thereto, except that where a
source of funds is a loan made in the
ordinary course of business by a bank, as
defined in section 78c(a) (6) of this title,
if the person filing such statement so
requests, the name of the bank shall not be
made available to the public;
(C) if the purpose of the purchases or
prospective purchases is to acquire control
of the business of the issuer of the
securities, any plans or proposals which
such persons may have to liquidate such
issuer, to sell its assets to or merge it
with any other persons, or to make any other
major change in its business or corporate
structure;
(D) the number of shares of such security
which are beneficially owned, and the number
of shares concerning which there is a right
to acquire, directly or indirectly, by (i)
such person, and (ii) by each associate of
such person, giving the name and address of
each such associate; and
(E) information as to any contracts,
arrangements, or understandings with any
person with respect to any securities of the
issuer, including but not limited to
transfer of any of the securities, joint
ventures, loan or option arrangements, puts
or calls, guaranties of loans, guaranties
against loss or guaranties of profits,
division of losses or profits, or the giving
or withholding of proxies, naming the
persons with whom such contracts,
arrangements, or understandings have been
entered into, and giving the details
thereof. 82 Stat. 454, as amended, 15 U.S.C.
§ 78m(d).
Rule 13d-1 of the Securities and Exchange
Commission provides that the disclosure
required by Section 13(d)(1) be set forth in
a Schedule 13D. See 17 C.F.R. §§ 240.13d-1,
240.13d-101 (1976). The SEC has recently
expanded the disclosure requirements of
Section 13(d) but the amendments in no way
affect the disposition of this case. 45
U.S.L.W. 2420 (Feb. 24, 1977).
2 The complaint also alleged that
appellants had violated other provisions of
the federal securities laws. These claims
were not ruled on by the District Court and
are not now before us.
3 See Part III, infra.
4 We find insufficient support in the
record to warrant extended discussion of
appellants' further claim that GAC's suit is
barred by laches and "unclean hands." There
is no evidence whatsoever to support the
assertion of "unclean hands," nor can it be
said that GAC failed to act in a timely
manner by filing suit within six weeks after
Lampert demanded GAC's stockholder list and
specifically advised GAC management of
appellants' intention to nominate their own
slate of directors for election at the July
1976 annual stockholders meeting.
5 Neither the availability of a private
suit under Section 13(d) nor GAC's standing
to bring such a suit are challenged by
appellants.
Rondeau v. Mosinee Paper Corp., 422 U.S. 49,
62, 95 S.Ct. 2069, 45 L.Ed.2d 12 (1975);
GAF Corp. v. Milstein,
453 F.2d 709, 719-21
(2d Cir. 1971), cert. denied, 406 U.S.
910, 92 S.Ct. 1610, 31 L.Ed.2d 821 (1972);
Piper v. Chris-Craft Industries, 430 U.S. 1,
42 n.28, 97 S.Ct. 926, 51 L.Ed.2d 124
(1977) (tender offeror does not have implied
cause of action for damages for violation of
Section 14(e) of the Williams Act, but no
opinion is expressed on the standing of an
issuer to enforce the Act).
6 Section 14(d) of the Williams Act, 15
U.S.C. § 78n(d), concerns the first type of
stock acquisitions, the acquisition of stock
by means of a cash tender offer. In
substance, it requires that disclosure of
similar information to that required by
Section 13(d) must be made prior to the
making of a tender offer. Commission Rule
14d-1 requires that the Section 14(d)
disclosure also be made in a Schedule 13D.
See 17 C.F.R. § 240.14d-1 (1976).
7 No difficulty is presented on this
record, insofar as preliminary relief is
concerned, as to when appellants agreed to
act in concert and thus became a "group,"
since it is clear that their October 30,
1974 purchase of GAC shares was pursuant to
their prior agreement to act in concert to
acquire the stock. It is therefore
unnecessary for us to determine whether the
filing requirement of Section 13(d) is
triggered when two or more persons owning
more than five percent of a class of
securities agree to act in concert to seize
control or whether filing is required only
when the group, in addition, has agreed to
acquire more shares thereafter.
GAF Corp. v. Milstein,
453 F.2d 709, 715-19
(2d Cir. 1971), cert. denied, 406 U.S.
910, 92 S.Ct. 1610, 31 L.Ed.2d 821 (1972)
with
Bath Industries v. Blot,
427 F.2d 97 (7th
Cir. 1970).
8 Even if it were to be determined that
appellants did not act as a group, Levy
alone was required to file a Schedule 13D
within ten days after October 30, 1974,
since he individually acquired 75,485
shares, which constituted approximately six
percent of GAC's common stock. As Lampert
held Scuderi's shares in addition to his
own, it would appear that he was also
required to file a Schedule 13D.
9 Although Section 13(d), unlike Section
14(e), does not in terms prohibit a false
filing, we agree with the Second Circuit
that the obligation to file truthful
statements is implicit in the obligation to
file. See GAF v. Milstein, supra at 720.
Moreover, even if appellants' intent to
acquire control of GAC did not arise until
after January 31, 1975, appellants are still
in violation of their duty to amend the
Schedule 13D pursuant to Section 13(d) (2),
15 U.S.C. § 78m(d)(2), and its implementing
regulation, 17 C.F.R. § 240.13d-2.
10 Paragraph 32 of the complaint provides
in full:
The foregoing violation of Section 13(d)
of the 1934 Act render all purchases and
attempts to purchase G.A.C. common stock
illegal and voidable. These violations have
deprived plaintiff and its shareholders of
the opportunity to learn, inter alia, the
identity of the persons proposed by
defendants to be the new or additional
G.A.C. directors and officers, as well as
other material changes in G.A.C.'s business,
which defendants intend to implement.
Therefore, unless defendants are restrained
they will continue to cause plaintiff and
its shareholders to be deprived of
information deemed essential by the 1934
Act, to their irreparable harm. (emphasis
supplied)
11 Although the annual meeting of
stockholders was held on November 19, 1976,
having been twice postponed and rescheduled
a third time for lack of a quorum, we do not
believe the question to be moot. The
granting of the preliminary injunction was
conditioned upon GAC posting a bond in the
amount of $10,000 to reimburse any party
found to have been wrongfully enjoined. See
Fed.R.Civ.P. 65(c). If appellants were
wrongfully disenfranchised, they may still
recover any damages resulting from being
unable to vote at the 1976 annual meeting.
12 Thus, for example, the persons who
sold the 5600 shares of GAC stock to Lampert
and Scuderi on December 31, 1974, while
appellants were in violation of Section
13(d) for failure to file the required
Schedule 13D, have an adequate remedy at law
for damages if they sold their stock at an
unfair price as a result of the Section
13(d) violation. Idem. |