Psychiatric Injury, Bad Faith, And Boardroom Conduct

Briefing Summary:

Introduction

On 16 December 2025, the Royal Court of Jersey handed down a significant judgment in MacLeod v The Channel Islands Cooperative Society Limited [2025] JRC 321.

The case (which we understand that the defendant intends to appeal) addresses the liability of an employer for psychiatric injury suffered by a senior executive, the standards of boardroom conduct and the boundaries of employer duty of care under Jersey law.

Factual background

The Plaintiff ("CM") was a long-serving CEO and director of the Channel Islands Co-operative Society Limited ("the Co-op"). From 2017 onwards, relations within the Co-op's board deteriorated, culminating in what the court found to be a campaign by certain board members (primarily members of its remuneration committee ("Remco")) to remove CM from