Apple's Disclosures Regarding Jobs' Health Remain Under Scrutiny by SEC
"The issue here is: Did Apple or Jobs make misleading disclosures, tested by what they knew at the time?" said Robert Hillman, a securities law professor at the University of California, Davis. "A disclosure could be misleading if it's a partial truth."
Whether the SEC will ultimately be able to take action against Apple or Jobs is unknown, given the uncertainty about the situation and the "murky" laws regarding disclosure of the health of companies' CEOs. Regardless of the extent to which a company has a duty to reveal health matters, it is clear that once a company chooses to speak about an issue, it must do so truthfully.While there has to be some measure of confidentiality around the health of executives, any disclosures need to be accurate and complete, said Jahan Raissi, a former SEC enforcement attorney.
"Once you open your mouth and start to speak on a topic, you have to say something completely truthful," said Raissi, who is now a partner at Shartsis Friese LLP in San Francisco. "If what you omitted is material, thats a problem."
Jobs' health issues ultimately required him to undergo a liver transplant, although he was still able to meet his stated timeline in returning to work by the end of June.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)Apple really has to find a middle on what information to release.
Well look at that, it happened. Hypothetical "he could have died if he was getting a transplant!" shouldn't matter seeing as they held true to their word. After going on medical leave I don't see a reason why anyone should be privy to his information. He came back when they said and is now heading the company as usual.
But some of the hollering seems to boil down to the premise that a patient's condition doesn't change over time, and that doctors don't do new tests or discover new information over time either.
But the fact is, doctors CAN determine something new--something they did not know a week (or an hour) before.
So if Apple makes one statement one week and an entirely new statement the following week, that's no more impossible than the DOCTOR making a new statement. Which happens all the time. The condition changes, or new test results come in, or whatever.
How much of those private records can be legally seized? I guess we'll find out.
I still don't see the big deal, even for investors to know details of medical "issues". You're going to bail from any investments in the company if suddenly Steve comes down with cancer... Oh wait... :rolleyes: It's fine if a company should divulge when a CEO 'steps out' for any kind of medical reason during a period but why really shouldn't be a big deal. Would you enjoy telling a ton of people about all of your medical issues? Apple's survived in Steve's absence before and they'll do it in the future.
:rolleyes:
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