Financier Louis Wolfson last week won a key battle in his proxy war with Sewell Avery for control of Montgomery Ward & Co. In a suit filed by Wolfson, Chicago Circuit Court Judge Harry M. Fisher ruled that Ward's staggered system for electing directors was illegal; it was a violation of the state constitution that guarantees every stockholder the right to enjoy maximum voting strength.
By electing only three of Ward's nine directors each year (for three-year terms) Avery has concentrated his proxies, been able to keep any minority stockholder group from getting a foothold. To Ward's courtroom arguments that staggered terms*...
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