BC Court Comments On Empty Voting In Context Of Shareholder Requisition

In its reason for judgement dated September 11, 2012, the Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled that Telus Corporation was not obliged to hold a shareholder meeting requisitioned by Mason Capital Management LLC on the basis that the requisition for the meeting did not comply with the law. While the ruling was based on application of the shareholder requisition provisions of the British Columbia Business Corporations Act (the BCBCA), the court also made some interesting comments regarding the need to disclose beneficial owners when making a requisition, the practice of "empty voting" and, in particular, the implications for corporate law principles where some shareholders have an economic interest that does not align with the interests of shareholders in a broader sense.