The Supreme Court of Western Australia has ruled in favour of Fat Tail Holdings to access AVZ Minerals' shareholders list and email details.
The Supreme Court of Western Australia has ruled in favour of Fat Tail Holdings to access AVZ Minerals' shareholders list and email details.
AVZ Minerals and Fat Tail Holdings have been locked in a legal dispute over the former’s boardroom membership.
Fat Tail Holdings has started an interlocutory process in court, to receive a complete copy of the AVZ Minerals shareholders register, including any email addresses or electronic addresses.
The application was inconsistent with AVZ Minerals seeking a court declaration that it had complied with all obligations.
In his judgment yesterday, WA Supreme Court Justice Matthew Howard dismissed AVZ’s application and made orders broadly in line with Fat Tail Holdings’ process.
“It is common ground that on 11 September 2023, AVZ Minerals supplied what was described as a ‘soft copy’ of the AVZ Minerals share register, but that did not contain any shareholders' email addresses; a matter taken up by Fat Tail Holdings by its solicitors in correspondence,” he said.
“The potential significance of the issue may be seen from the fact that about 28 per cent of AVZ Minerals shareholders have nominated email as their preferred means of communication.
“No issue was taken as to the purpose for which Fat Tail Holdings sought a copy of the register.”
A campaign group linked to Fat Tail Holdings has called for immediate resignation of AVZ’s board, nominating three new directors to replace the members at an upcoming annual general meeting.
Fat Tail Holdings wanted to access the shareholder register to communicate about their shareholding in AVZ, the judgment said.
“There is some urgency attached to the determination of these applications,” Justice Howard said in his judgment.
“Fat Tail Holdings wishes to communicate with the members of AVZ Minerals as close in time as possible to the calling of the annual general meeting.”
