The company had suffered losses after an alleged breach of confidence by a director. The applicant sought to recover his losses as a shareholder, after the company became unable or unwilling itself to pursue an action to recover the losses it had suffered. The court held that the shareholder’s action must fail. The losses he sought, including the devaluation of his shares in the company and otherwise, were all derived from the losses which the company had itself suffered. Where those losses might have been made good if the company itself had pursued the case, the shareholder was not able himself to pursue the loss, applying Johnson v Gore Wood and Co.
Judges:
Blackburne J
Citations:
Times 06-Aug-2001, Gazette 06-Sep-2001, [2003] Ch 618
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Johnson v Gore Wood and Co HL 14-Dec-2000
Shareholder May Sue for Additional Personal Losses
A company brought a claim of negligence against its solicitors, and, after that claim was settled, the company’s owner brought a separate claim in respect of the same subject-matter.
Held: It need not be an abuse of the court for a shareholder . .
Cited by:
Appeal from – Giles v Rhind CA 17-Oct-2002
An action by a company under a shareholder’s agreement was compromised. The other shareholder now sought to commence an action against the party in breach for his personal losses. The defendant argued that the company’s compromise was binding also . .
Cited – Gardner v Parker CA 25-Jun-2004
The court considered the extent to which a shareholder or creditor of a company who has suffered loss, as the result of a breach of duties owed both to him and the company by a defendant, is nonetheless debarred from recovering that loss, because . .
Cited – Shahar v Tsitsekkos and others ChD 17-Nov-2004
The defendant wished to make a claim against another party outside the jurisdiction and was granted permission to serve documents which were headed ‘defence and counterclaim’. The proposed defendant argued that such a document could be served in . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Damages, Company
Updated: 15 May 2022; Ref: scu.159493