WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Corporate directors must rein in soaring U.S. executive pay or face the prospect of government regulation, said the judge who presided over a landmark pay case involving entertainment group Disney Co. on Tuesday.
Delaware Chancery Court Judge William Chandler -- who let Disney directors off the hook in August for Michael Ovitz's huge $140 million 1996 payoff after a brief failed term as Disney president -- warned in a speech to a directors' group that regulation would be a "blunt instrument."
"If neither the courts nor the markets are able to restrain executive compensation, and if you the decision-makers fail ... the result will be imposition of regulatory controls," said Chandler, whose court handles many important business cases.
Top U.S. company managers continue to receive huge pay packets -- $9.8 million for the average chief executive of a major company in 2004 -- despite years of complaints by investor advocates and warnings by a variety of watchdogs.
Details here from Reuters via Yahoo! News. There's more here from Jurist.