Lichtenstein filed a lawsuit against Drake and three directors earlier this year, arguing they violated the order by using company executives, advisers and funds to support their campaign to take control of the board. against him.
“The plaintiffs are entitled to a declaration that the principle of corporate neutrality applies in relation to the disputed election and that it has been violated,” Judge Lori Will wrote in her ruling.
Drake said in a statement that she was glad the court did not hold members of her contempt list.
The decision comes as the proxy contest, where the CEO and the chairman face off, will end on June 30, when investors will vote at a special meeting to appoint the members of the board of directors. The two parties have been fighting each other since the failure of the merger of Aerojet with Lockheed Martin Corp for an amount of 4.4 billion dollars.
“There is now a clear path for shareholders to decide the future of the company,” Drake said in the statement.
A Lichtenstein representative said: “We wonder how shareholders can trust anything Ms. Drake says now that it has been determined that she violated a court order and misused company resources in her quest to control of the board of directors.
Steel Partners, the publicly traded holding company controlled by Lichtenstein, owns more than 5% of the rocket and missile company’s shares. Steel recently unveiled a refreshed slate of director candidates and announced plans to install Mark Tucker, the company’s former chief operating officer, as CEO.
Will’s decision pointed to a February 1 press release issued by several board members revealing an internal investigation into Lichtenstein, calling it “bargaining leverage to pressure Lichtenstein into withdrawing his listing.”
Ms. Will also granted a corrective disclosure to Lichtenstein, a rare gesture. She wrote that “corrective disclosures must be issued in the form of a press release and corresponding Form 8-K.”