Moelis & Co. lost its bid Monday to end litigation over a web of contract clauses that give its billionaire founder authority over a range of decisions traditionally left to a board of directors.
A Delaware judge, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster, let the case move toward trial with allegations that the investment bank is violating state corporate laws through provisions in a stockholder agreement with Ken Moelis, its chairman and CEO. The pact is “designed to entrench and perpetuate” his control, the lawsuit says.
The proposed class action, filed by a pension fund, is part of a wave of ...