Company claims and applications

The firm advises on company-related claims and applications. A company can sue and be sued in its own name. It must sue on its own behalf, according to the rights it holds and the duties owed to it.

In Foss v Harbottle, two shareholders sued the company’s directors and alleged that company property had been misused. The court held that the injury was an injury to the company. In law, the company and its members are not the same, so the members could not maintain that suit. The company was the proper plaintiff, and the proper organ to commence the action was the board. A single director or officer cannot sue on the company’s behalf unless specifically authorised to do so.