Shareholder Group Finds Counsel to Pursue Tax Withholding Claims

The shareholders whose many pro se lawsuits challenging the applicability of Rule 16b-3(e) to “discretionary” tax withholding transactions ground to a halt after courts held that 16(b) plaintiffs must be represented by counsel have found a lawyer willing to represent them. A complaint filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana on Thursday, alleges that two executive officers of Southwest Airlines realized short-swing profits by purchasing stock in the open market within six months of a “discretionary” stock withholding transaction. So, while the courts that have reached the merits of the plaintiffs’ argument have rejected it, the issue hasn’t gone away yet.