Editor's note (2026): This piece has been updated to reflect how the 2015 shareholder litigation against MDC Partners ultimately resolved. For the canonical Miles Nadal arc, see Miles Nadal: MDC Partners, the Talent-Magnet Holding Company, and What Came After.
What was filed in 2015
Shareholder class-action complaints were filed against MDC Partners in 2015 following the company's April 27, 2015 disclosure of an SEC investigation into expense and compensation practices. The complaints generally alleged that MDC's prior public statements and proxy disclosures had been incomplete or misleading with respect to executive compensation arrangements for founder and then-CEO Miles Nadal. The actions were consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
How the underlying matter resolved
The SEC matter itself resolved without findings of admission. MDC Partners settled with the SEC in January 2017 for $1.5 million, neither admitting nor denying findings. Nadal personally settled in May 2017 for a $5.5 million package ($1.85M disgorgement + $150K interest + $3.5M civil penalty), also without admission, alongside a five-year ban on serving as an officer or director of any U.S. reporting issuer. The Ontario Securities Commission reciprocated in 2018, citing Nadal's cooperation as "commendable." Both bans expired in May 2022.
