Friday, July 16, 2010

When Do You Need A Preliminary Injunction In An Illinois Corporate Shareholder Dispute?

Illinois is supposed to be more shareholder friendly than Delaware. Its Business Corporation Act provides minority shareholders protections if the majority shareholders are

  1. committing waste;
  2. practicing fraud;
  3. acting illegally; or
  4. oppressing minority shareholders.

There was an article in Business Law Today a while ago that contended that minority shares of stock are worthless apart from whatever rights were provided in a shareholders’ agreement, but I disagree: minority shareholders in Illinois--without any shareholders’ agreement-- have the rights given them by the Illinois Business Corporation Act (and this Act influenced the drafting of the Model Business Corporation Act). If they sue to vindicate these rights, the majority shareholders can elect to buy them out, and their buy out price is the fair value (not the fair market value) of their shares.

Listing the rights given by statute begins to answer the question posed. If you are a minority shareholder, you need a preliminary injunction if the majority shareholders are doing one or more of the above acts and you or the corporation is going to be immediately irreparably harmed as a result. Waste of corporate assets might not be recoverable absent immediate action; an illegal act may cause the corporation to be sanctioned by law enforcement officials. Oppression is an elastic concept, but the standard is the reasonable expectation of the shareholders. Most of these defalcations will diminish the goodwill of the corporation, a harm that is difficult to quantify, justifying a preliminary injunction.

In the midst of the ill-will that accompanies actions that necessitate shareholder actions, actual or threatened improper withdrawals from the corporation may require a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order. Minority shareholders need to be vigilant in guarding the corporate purse. A preliminary injunction can be justified on a constructive trust theory (corporate money is a res that is the subject of dispute over whether the payment is proper). The Illinois Business Corporation Act codifies the court’s power to issue injunctions as well. And the Act provides panoply of remedies available to the court: appointment of a receiver or director, for example, and, more broadly, any order necessary.