A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit that accused Apple of overpaying Chief Executive Tim Cook and other executives tens of millions of dollars by miscalculating the value of performance-based stock awards.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon in Manhattan said the iPhone maker’s compensation practices, described in a detailed compensation schedule in its 2023 proxy statement, were “fully” consistent with the requirements of securities laws and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules.

Rochon has found no evidence that Apple’s board of directors engaged in wrongdoing in awarding pay, and said the plaintiff, a pension fund affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, did not give the board enough time to consider its objections before suing.

Lawyers for the pension fund did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The plaintiffs say Apple granted $92.7 million in performance-based restricted stock units to Cook and four other executives in 2021 and $94 million in 2022, even though its compensation committee intended to award only $77.5 million annually. .

It attributed the alleged error to the committee’s improper calculation of the fair value of the RSUs when appropriating the money, and said it misled shareholders who will take advisory votes on executive compensation, a so-called “say on pay.”

Apple proxy documents show that Cook’s compensation in 2021 and 2022 will total about $99 million, including more than $82 million in annual stock awards.

In 2023, his total compensation dropped to $63.2 million. Four other Apple executives received compensation of more than $26 million in each of the three years.

The case is International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Garage Employees Local 272 Labor Management Pension Fund v. Apple Inc., et al., U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 23-01867.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a Yonhap news agency feed – Reuters)