Barth v. Barth
Supreme Court of Indiana
659 N.E.2d 559 (Ind. 1995)
Relevant factsFree
Minority shareholder Robert Barth (plaintiff), who owned 29.8 percent of closely held Barth Electric Co., sued majority shareholder and company president Michael Barth (defendant) individually, alleging Michael took actions that reduced the value of Robert's stock. The defendants moved to dismiss, arguing Robert's claims could only be brought as a shareholder derivative action on the corporation's behalf, not as an individual direct suit; the trial court agreed and dismissed, but the court of appeals reversed.
IssueFree
Whether, in the case of a closely held corporation, a trial court has discretion to treat an action raising derivative claims as a direct action by an individual shareholder.