header-logo header-logo

05 July 2024 / Georgina Squire
Issue: 8078 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Limitation , Company
printer mail-detail

Time’s up! Shareholders, unfair prejudice & Zedra

180615
Georgina Squire examines time limitations imposed by the Court of Appeal on unfair prejudice petitions
  • Provides a detailed look at the case of THG v Zedra, which overturned decades of accepted authority on limitation regarding s 994 unfair prejudice claims.

Until recently, it was assumed the Limitation Act 1980 does not apply to claims for relief from unfair prejudice under s 994 of the Companies Act 2006. In a perhaps surprising decision in February 2024, however, in THG Plc and others v Zedra Trust Company (Jersey) Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 158, [2024] All ER (D) 169 (Feb), the Court of Appeal held that such claims are in fact subject to the1980 Act, and the length of the limitation period will depend on the relief sought. What was it that led their Lords Justice Lewison, Arnold and Snowden to overturn 40 years of ‘received wisdom’?

Background

On 7 January 2019 a petition under s 994 was presented in the High Court by Zedra Trust Company (Jersey) Ltd against the respondents, The Hut Group Limited (THG) and its directors

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

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
back-to-top-scroll