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Normally, terminating privileges that give boards of directors unilateral authority allowing them to circumvent shareholders are applauded as good corporate governance. But with an estimated US$1.7-trillion in cash lining the corporate coffers of U.S. companies, these are not ordinary times.

Greenlight Capital, whose various subsidiaries own about US$600-million worth of Apple stock, is unhappy the iPod, iPhone and iPad maker is hoarding huge sums of cash in “Depression-era” style rather than giving some back to shareholders. Although Apple has committed to dishing out US$45-billion over three years, it’s been skimpy on details.

Greenlight Capital’s founder and president David Einhorn figures he has a better idea.

Apple, Einhorn says, should issue US$50-billion of dividend-paying preferred stock, with a 4% annual cash dividend, to existing shareholders. To that end, he filed a lawsuit on Feb. 7 to prevent any vote that includes removing preferred stock from Apple’s corporate charter.

Two days ago, Apple’s CEO Timothy Cook dismissed the lawsuit as a “silly sideshow” that amounts to nothing more than a waste of shareholder money. Even so, Cook said the company would “seriously consider” Greenlight’s proposal.

That response has made for strange bedfellows. Apple has always been notoriously unfriendly to shareholders but by wrapping itself in the garb of a good corporate citizen, it has garnered the support of some U.S. governance heavyweights, including California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers) and Proxy Advisory Services (ISS).