Berkshire and Buffett Accused of Orchestrating “Unprecedented” Crackdown on Shareholder Speech
[St. Louis, MO] National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) filed its opening appellate brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, seeking to overturn a lower federal court’s decision in Omaha that dismissed NLPC’s lawsuit against Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett for having NLPC’s Chairman Peter Flaherty, arrested for trespass at Berkshire’s 2023 Annual Meeting.
Click here for NLPC’s brief.
Mr. Flaherty’s presentation at the annual meeting, as part of the meeting agenda, supported NLPC’s shareholder proposal to have the positions of Chairman and CEO be held by separate individuals, as a matter of good corporate governance. As part of NLPC’s shareholder presentation, Mr. Flaherty criticized Mr. Buffett’s billions of dollars of support to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which promotes the controversial Critical Race Theory teaching that “math is inherently racist,” and a Gender Identity Toolbox, “which asserts that gender is a result of socially and culturally constructed ideas.”
Mr. Flaherty also pointed out Bill Gates‘s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which had been reported in a Wall Street Journal story two days before the meeting. Recently released emails by Congress also show Epstein’s relationship with Gates. As he spoke, Buffett cut off Flaherty’s microphone and ordered his security guards to eject Mr. Flaherty from the arena, who had an Omaha Police officer arrest Flaherty on the spot. Trespassing charges were dropped shortly thereafter.
“The silencing and arrest of a shareholder who was invited to speak in favor of a shareholder proposal has never before occurred at an annual meeting of a public company in the United States,” Flaherty said.
“Berkshire Hathaway and Mr. Buffett must be held accountable for this outrageous display of strong-arm tactics to silence a shareholder,” said Paul Kamenar, counsel to NLPC.
Besides claims for civil liability for the false arrest and assault of Mr. Flaherty, a claim for false imprisonment was made on behalf of James “Jamie” Tovar, NLPC’s Development Director who accompanied Mr. Flaherty to the meeting and was also credentialed to attend. Mr. Tovar was blocked by security guards from following Mr. Flaherty out of the auditorium during his arrest and was ordered to remain seated.
A final claim was made for promissory estoppel since Berkshire and Mr. Buffett breached its promise that NLPC would be able to make its three-minute presentation, cut short even after Mr. Buffett told Mr. Flaherty that he could proceed with his remarks after an initial interruption by a Berkshire officer, as long as it was limited to three-minutes.
“NLPC is fortunate to be represented in its appeal by Jeffrey E. McFadden, an expert appellate counsel in Maryland with 35 years’ experience, and former partner with two major Washington, D.C., law firms,” said Mr. Kamenar. Mr. McFadden has argued before the Eighth Circuit and noted for his zealous defense of free speech, including a major victory on behalf of a Naval Academy midshipman in a landmark viewpoint discrimination case. Mr. McFadden is also a graduate of the Naval Academy and Georgetown University Law Center.
Founded in 1991, the National Legal and Policy Center promotes ethics in public life through research, investigation, education and legal action.
For more information or to schedule an interview with a NLPC spokesperson, please contact Dan Rene at 202-329-8357 or [email protected]
