Do you own some shares in a company? Did you buy the said shares
because you thought the company has a great future profit
potential? That sounds like a great decision. But how many shares
did you buy? Less than 51% of the issued shares? If so, then you
are a "minority shareholder".
Shares allow voting rights but if you are not a majority or
substantial shareholder, then there is every chance that you maybe
outvoted on a matter that may be crucial to you. What if you feel
what the directors/majority shareholders are doing is wrong? Can
you take action?
The general answer is no. There is a rule called the
"Foss v Harbottle" rule which
states that "the proper plaintiff in respect of wrong
committed against a company, is the company; not the
shareholder". In such a scenario, if you feel that the
directors/majority shareholders are doing something wrong, they are
committing that wrong against the company, not against you
personally. Therefore, the entity which has the
