header-logo header-logo

29 July 2019
Categories: Features , Company
printer mail-detail

Unfair prejudice petitions: can a director’s breach of duty bar their claim?

Absent any secretive or dishonest conduct, there can be no certainty that a director’s actions will justify their removal, say Richard Foss & Elena Matsa
  • Treating a director who is a minority shareholder fairly in both their involvement in the management of a company and in any offers to acquire their shares is of paramount importance to defeating an unfair prejudice petition.

 You are acting for a minority shareholder who wishes to bring an unfair prejudice claim pursuant to s 944 of the Companies Act 2006 but who is, at the same time, in breach of their fiduciary duties as a director of the company. Will the breach of their duties be a bar to seeking redress under an unfair prejudice petition?

There have been a number of cases where the court has held that the exclusion of a participant from management has been justified on the grounds of breach of duty. Those cases are very fact-specific, but tend to involve breaches of duty involving secretive and/or dishonest

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea

WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea

Commercial property and child law teams expand with senior hires

Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew

Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew

Set expands London and Singapore offering with senior international disputes hires

Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth

Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth

Firm strengthens real estate and litigation teams with partner promotions

NEWS
Behind the profession’s polished exterior, lawyers are ‘internally drained rather than physically tired’, according to a stark assessment of burnout in legal practice
Five years after the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 came into force, concerns remain that the family courts continue to minimise allegations of abuse in child contact disputes
Uber has built a formidable strategy for insulating itself from liability for drivers’ conduct, but the legal terrain differs sharply between the US and England and Wales
The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 marks a constitutional watershed by severing the centuries-old link between hereditary titles and automatic membership of the upper chamber
The Civil Justice Council’s review of Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 could mark the end of what one commentator calls an ‘outdated’ and overly technical regime governing solicitor-client fee disputes
back-to-top-scroll