FirstEnergy Asks Court to Toss Derivative Suit on Alleged Bribes

A FirstEnergy Corp. shareholder’s suit over its purported role in a legislative bribery scandal should be thrown out because there was no demand on the board, the company told a federal judge in Ohio.

The shareholder accused the energy company’s directors and officers of causing FirstEnergy to secretly spend millions to secure the passage of favorable legislation in Ohio. But she didn’t make a pre-suit demand or adequately plead demand futility, FirstEnergy told the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

The shareholder “owns 0.00015% of FirstEnergy’s outstanding shares, yet seeks to usurp control over its affairs by ...