Edward Rogers wins major court battle for control of family-run telecom giant

A British Columbia court has ruled that Edward Rogers is the legitimate chair of Rogers Communications Inc., a major legal victory in his battle to take control of the company that bears his family name.

Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick of the B.C. Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Edward, who was the architect of a plan to oust the company's CEO Joe Natale in September, only to be blocked by members of his own family, is entitled to call himself the legitimate chair of the company.

"I'm granting the order sought by Edward, and granting him costs," the judge said.

Edward was chair of the board at Rogers Communications Inc. up until last month, when the plan came to light and other members of the board voted him out as chair. But he used his power as head of the voting trust that controls 97 per cent of the company's voting shares to fire five members of the board, replace them with his hand-picked choices, and reinstate himself.

The court was being asked to decide who was in charge of the company: the original board that removed Edward as chair, or the newly constituted one he created. The case was heard in B.C. because that is where the company is incorporated.

In her ruling, the judge acknowledged the firestorm of turmoil that has engulfed the company since the board room and family rift came to light.

"These family squabbles are an interesting backdrop to this dispute that would be more in keeping with a Shakespearean drama," she wrote in her decision.

"They have no doubt added a voyeuristic element on the part of many into the lives of a very wealthy Canadian family and this aspect of the dispute has driven some media coverage. However, in my view, the family issues are of little assistance in determining the narrow legal issue raised and certainly do not need to be addressed or resolved in this court," she said. "At best, they are a distraction."

Camden Hutchison, a law professor at the Allard School of Law in Vancouver, says the ruling was what he expected. Because Edward controls 97 per cent of the voting rights, what he did is "permitted under the Business Corporations Act of British Columbia and also under the articles of Rogers Communications," he told CBC News in an interview Friday.

Under B.C. law, anyone with two-thirds control of shareholders can add or remove directors through a simple consent resolution, without the need for a full shareholder meeting.

The company's lawyers argued that Edward didn't follow the right protocol by replacing board members unilaterally and had silenced the wishes of non-voting shareholders, but argument didn't hold any legal weight.

"It's not a legal argument," Hutchison said.

WATCH | Rogers drama like a 'soap opera':

The judge seemed to agree, concluding in her ruling that based on the letter of the law, "it was not necessary for the [non-voting] shareholders to participate in the process ... or that they attend an actual meeting of shareholders."