A Practical Guide to Shareholder Disputes in Owner Managed and Family Businesses - Second Edition

A Practical Guide to Shareholder Disputes in Owner Managed and Family Businesses is a collation of key legal principles and practical advice for those tasked with resolving such disputes or those who are involved in such disputes. It is based on 25 years of practical experience of resolving shareholders disputes in companies big and small.

The focus is on owner managed businesses and the issues that arise in such businesses. It recognises that family businesses are a special type of owner managed business and that the approach taken in resolving internal disputes in such businesses needs to reflect that difference. It looks at the three elements that need to be understood in any dispute, being the law, the commercial context, and the psychology of the people involved, and provides practical advice in this respect.

The approach of the book is to give an overview of the key legal principles in plain English, together with extensive case references for those who want to delve deeper into the subject.

The second edition brings the case law up to date, adding new cases of interest, including cases that overturned decades of received wisdom about the impact of the Limitation Act on shareholder disputes and shareholders right to information.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Chapter 2 - Corporate Governance - The Documentation

Chapter 3 - Corporate Governance - Rights and Duties

Chapter 4 - Gathering the Evidence

Chapter 5 - Unfair Prejudice (s.994)

Chapter 6 - Remedies (s.996)

Chapter 7 - Winding Up

Chapter 8 - Other Causes of Action Under the Companies Act 2006

Chapter 9 - Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and Offers of Settlement

Chapter 10 - Advising Majority Shareholders

Chapter 11 - Advising Minority Shareholders

Chapter 12 - Deceased Shareholders and Bankrupt Shareholders

Chapter 13 - Valuing the Company / Shareholding

Chapter 14 - The Litigation Process

Chapter 15 - Case Studies

Chapter 16 - Conclusions