As just about everyone knows by this point, the courts decided last year that former UnitedHealth CEO Bill McGuire had been a bad boy when it came to stock options. McGuire was asked to give up $420 million in dicey stock-option gains and retirement pay to settle shareholder and SEC complaints over how the stock options were awarded. (We're talking a slight case of backdating for profit here.)
Despite this decision, which was arrived at by a special litigation committee, things reached a stalling point after that, notes the Wall Street Journal. A judge overseeing the case decided not to finalize the agreement, as he wanted to know whether he had to follow the word of the litigation committee. Delay, delay and more delay.
Well, now, it seems that the Minnesota Supreme Court is ready to move things along. Yesterday, the court concluded that the judge has to defer to the litigation committee, as long as it was operating in good faith and decided things independently. So, maybe now Dr. McGuire will end up paying out his backdating gains.
To learn more about the decision:
- read this Wall Street Journal blog item
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