It was Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton’s own words on the key to business that led the Third Circuit’s determination that the company’s sale of high-capacity firearms was done in the ordinary course of business and free from shareholder input.
But in so ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit suggested the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission needed to clarify its rules on when shareholders’ social policy initiatives can trump the commission’s bid to stem shareholder interference with ordinary business decisions.
