John Wardell QC

Company CV 

Many of John's commercial cases involve contentious company law matters, such as shareholder disputes, unfair prejudice claims, claims for breach of director's duties and claims under share sale agreements.

Recent/notable cases include:

• Acting for minority shareholders in a dispute over the ownership of mining licences in Greenland (Iesini v Westrip [2009] EWHC 2526).
  
  
• Advising on an injunction threatened by shareholders claiming that a proposed takeover and the giving of cross guarantee required class consent under the company's articles.
  
  
• Acting for the successful claimant who is seeking to recover his trial costs on the basis that the shareholders of the defendant company were defending the claim for their own personal benefit [ongoing].
  
  
• Acting for the defendants in respect of a claim for conspiracy/breach of a shareholders agreement arising out of the acquisition of a renewable energy business [ongoing].
  
  
• Advising brokers on a potential fraud claim arising out of the trading of carbon emission allowances (ongoing).
  
  
• Langbar International v Rybak and others [2007-8] (complex fraud arising out of the collapse of a company listed on the Alternative Investment Market.   Allegations of breach of fiduciary duty relating to the allotment and subsequent sale of shares).
  
  
• Acting for the successful claimant in a substantial claim for deceit arising out of the acquisition of a services company (Bottin International v Venson [2006] EWHC).
  
  
• Acting for the former director and minority shareholder in a personal and derivative claim against those controlling the company arising out of their diversion of business opportunities to companies they controlled (Gidman v Barron and Moore [2003] EWHC 153).
  
  
• Acting for liquidators in a claim brought against a former director for breach of fiduciary duty in waiving a claim against the company's vendors (Regentrcrest Plc v Cohen [2001] BCC 494).