Unneighbourly behaviour and unfair prejudice

On 31 July 2020, Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Burton dismissed an unfair prejudice petition brought by the offshore company of a resident of a private estate in South London against the company and directors tasked with running the estate’s shared private road and communal landscaped areas on a non-profit basis. The case was heard over several days and saw allegations that the judge considered to be “between neighbours” presented as a shareholders dispute.

Of particular note in this case were:

• the judge’s application of the test for whether a company should be treated as a ‘quasi-partnership’, and
• her remarks that the petitioner should exhaust the remedies available under the Company’s constitution before complaining to the court that it had been unfairly prejudiced.

The judgment is available here.

Richard Samuel acted for the respondents – instructed by Peacock & Co