In the battle between Apple Inc. and David Einhorn, score a point for the hedge fund manager.
A federal judge said on Tuesday that he was leaning toward Mr. Einhorn’s contention in a lawsuit that the iPad maker violated securities regulations by improperly bundling several shareholder proposals into one matter.
The lawsuit by Mr. Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital, filed in federal district court in Manhattan, argues that Apple unjustly tied a vote to eliminate the company’s ability to issue preferred stock at will with other initiatives that the hedge fund manager supports.
While the judge overseeing the case, Richard Sullivan, didn’t immediately grant Mr. Einhorn’s request for an immediate halt to the vote, he said that the facts of the case favored the investor’s interpretation.
“I think success on the merits lies wit Greenlight,†Judge Sullivan said at the end of a two-hour hearing.
He is expected to decide whether to grant a preliminary injunction within days, citing the Feb. 27 cutoff for voting on Apple’s shareholder proposals.
