Olshan Secures Mandamus Order Commanding Annual Meeting in Maryland

On May 23, 2024, an Olshan trial team secured an order of mandamus for Stilwell Activist Investments, LP (“Stilwell”), directing a Maryland corporation to hold its annual meeting. Olshan’s victory represents the first court ruling enforcing provisions in the Maryland Corporations Code requiring corporations to hold annual meetings. Respondent Silvergate Capital Corporation, a bank holding company incorporated in Maryland, failed to hold an annual meeting in 2023 after its bank subsidiary shuttered. In February 2024, Stilwell petitioned the Maryland Circuit Court for a Writ of Mandamus to compel the meeting. Silvergate moved to dismiss the Petition, arguing that its Board had discretion on the scheduling of any shareholder meeting. After argument, the Maryland Circuit Court for Baltimore County denied the motion to dismiss and granted the Petition, ordering Silvergate to hold its annual meeting within 120 days. Olshan litigation attorneys Thomas J. Fleming and Jacqueline Y. Ma and Shareholder Activism partner Meagan Reda represented Stilwell in this matter.