P.M. BRIEFING : Judge Refuses Stockholders’ Plea to Delay Time’s Annual Meeting

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware Chancery Court judge today denied a motion by three sizable Time Inc. shareholders to delay the embattled giant’s annual meeting at which four officers are expected to be reelected.

Time, the target of an unwanted $12-billion takeover bid from Paramount Communications Inc., has chosen to honor a merger pact with Warner Communications Inc. Under that deal, Time will buy Warner for $14 billion.

The Time-Warner merger agreement does not require shareholder approval, but Time scheduled a meeting for Friday to reelect four directors, including Time Chairman J. Richard Munro and Time President Nicholas J. Nicholas Jr.

The shareholders’ suit was filed Monday by a unit of Robert M. Bass Limited Partners; Cablevision Systems Corp., a Westbury, N.Y., cable company; and Jerrold Perenchio, a Hollywood film producer. The three own about 1 million shares, or 1.8%, of Time’s outstanding common stock.

The plaintiffs claim Time has not disseminated enough information about events that have taken place since May 22 to allow shareholders to make a reasoned vote at Friday’s meeting.