Supreme Court In British Columbia Swats Down “Mosquito”; Sets Aside Meeting Results And Orders Company To Call A New Meeting

In a landmark case that will, no doubt, influence proxy voting procedures here in the U.S. as well, a British Columbia judge ruled in favor of the Petitioner - International Energy and Mineral Resources Investment Ltd. —a Hong Kong company that was seeking to oust directors of Mosquito Consolidated Gold Mines Limited— “setting aside and declaring the Dec. 16. 2011 AGM invalid and all resolutions passed at the AGM null and void, and an order that Mosquito convene an Annual and Special General Meeting within 60 days” of the judgment.

It was only a matter of time, as we’d long been predicting, before someone blew the whistle on some of the slipshod telephone voting practices we had ourselves been subjected to over the past few years. Who’da thunk it would be a Canadian case that blew the lid off some of the dirty little secrets—and the very real questions of transparency, and basic fairness that can arise with telephone voting campaigns?

And, as we’d also predicted, no one involved—except the whistleblower, whose fame and fortune will, no doubt, grow considerably—ended up better off as a result.

For a full discussion of the case, including the Judge’s ruling, go to www.laurelhill.com/byrdwatch