A private corporation is not a government agency, and is not required to have any public meetings. The shareholder meeting is for owners (shareholders) of the corporation, and simply showing a driver's license does not mean that you are an owner of the corporation.

It is true that there are lists of shareholders. However (and I am admittedly rusty on this) many people have shares held in "street name" and when I used to look at shareholder lists you would see that Merrill Lynch owned a zillion shares but you would not see who the beneficial owner(s) of the shares was.

As to what litigation or potential litigation needs to be disclosed in the Annual Report, this is governed not simply by statute but also SEC guidance. It is most often not a bright-line test. And simply because a matter rises to the level where the corporation determines that disclosure is advisable or mandatory under SEC requirements does not imply that the corporation is not going to actively litigate an issue.

Paul Steinberg
Franchisee Attorney, New York City, Ph: 212-529-5400