Judgment was recently given in the first shareholder class
action claim in England, Sharp v Blank [2019] EWHC
3078 (Ch).
The claims were brought by 5,803 shareholders in Lloyds Bank
against some of its former directors, and Lloyds itself. They
stemmed from Lloyds' reverse takeover of HBOS PLC during the
financial crisis in 2008.
The judgment concerns the recommendation made by directors to
shareholders, and disclosure of information ahead of a shareholder
vote approving the acquisition. The judgment demonstrates the
difficulty future shareholder class actions of this kind may have
(a) establishing a valid claim against directors; and (b) showing
loss on the part of the shareholders.
