Update: MeVC Moves To Dismiss Suit

Publicly-traded venture fund MeVC Draper Fisher Jurvetson Fund I Inc. moved on Aug. 9 to dismiss a lawsuit filed on July 30 by its largest shareholder and thorn in its side, Millennium Partners LP. The July 30 lawsuit asked the court to invalidate the elections of two of the fund’s directors, alleging they were elected on materially false proxy information (for more coverage, search on Aug. 5 story on our archive at http://www.pewnews.com/pew/protected/searcharchives.html).

“This frivolous action lacks legal merit,” reads a statement released by MeVC, which claims that none of the allegedly omitted facts listed in Millennium’s complaint were required to be disclosed. MeVC’s release also states that the case law cited by Millennium only applies to contested elections, but MeVC’s directors were the only ones nominated for their positions.

“We think there were material omissions which would have influenced the way we would have voted our proxy,” says Robert Knapp, managing director at Millennium. He disputes claims in the MeVC release that Millennium had abandoned two previous lawsuits.

After MeVC altered a situation that had been the main point of contention in an April 3 lawsuit over voting in the annual shareholders’ meeting, that suit lost its relevance, but Knapp considers the action successful. This July 30 action is actually an amendment to that suit.

Secondly, Millennium contends they are still pursuing a Feb. 20 lawsuit alleging that MeVC’s management team charged shareholders excessive fees. Since February, however, the management structure of MeVC has changed considerably.

Contact Charles Fellers