Knox v Deane [2005] BCC 884
Privy Council - Companies - Shareholder Rights
Edward Cohen led the resistance to this appeal from the Court of Appeal of Barbados. It involved the construction of a pre-emption provision in a company's articles of association and, in particular, whether under that provision existing shareholders had priority over a person selected by the directors as being a desirable shareholder. The Privy Council accepted Edward's submission that the proper construction was that the right of the selected person was not subordiante but alternative to the right of the shareholders and the choice of alternative was left to the discretion of the directors, so that the appeal was dismissed. Note that in view of the setting up of a Caribbean Court of Appeal, this may be one of the last or perhaps even the last civil appeal to the Privy Council from Barbados.