Roosevelt v. E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co.

Du Pont (defendant) had committed to eliminating CFC production "as soon as possible, but at least by the year 2000." A shareholder group presented a proxy proposal, in the name of shareholder Amelia Roosevelt (plaintiff), asking Du Pont to commit to an earlier phase-out date and to report on substitute-chemical research. Du Pont excluded the proposal under SEC Rule 14a-8(c)(7)'s "ordinary business operations" exception, and the SEC staff agreed via a no-action letter. Roosevelt sued, and while the case was pending Du Pont voluntarily moved its target date up to 1995, narrowing the gap between what the proposal asked for and what Du Pont had already promised.