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Gelter, Martin --- "Mapping types of shareholder lawsuits across jurisdictions" [2018] ELECD 1131; in Griffith, Sean; Erickson, Jessica; Webber, H. David; Winship, Verity (eds), "Research Handbook on Representative Shareholder Litigation" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018) 459

Book Title: Research Handbook on Representative Shareholder Litigation

Editor(s): Griffith, Sean; Erickson, Jessica; Webber, H. David; Winship, Verity

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN: 9781786435330

Section: Chapter 26

Section Title: Mapping types of shareholder lawsuits across jurisdictions

Author(s): Gelter, Martin

Number of pages: 23

Abstract/Description:

This chapter compares various forms of shareholder lawsuits found in the United States, the United Kingdom, and several European and Asian countries. The chapter attempts to create a taxonomy of shareholder lawsuits addressing conflicts of interest across countries. Many jurisdictions have procedural mechanisms that allow shareholders to bring a lawsuit on their own with varying limitations of the types of claims or suits that may be brought. The chapter discusses the various types of suits, such as direct, derivative, and rescission suits, that are presented to shareholders in each jurisdiction as well as the mechanisms, the difficulties therein, and the effectiveness of such lawsuits in deterring or remedying unfavorable actions. The chapter concludes with an evaluation of the efficacy of each jurisdiction’s models of shareholder litigation and highlights the difficulties in creating a perfect system that could ensure the protection of shareholders’ rights while preventing nonmeritorious or even abusive lawsuits.