Adir Shiffman notches up procedural win in Sleeping Duck court fight
Prominent investor Adir Shiffman is taking portfolio company Sleeping Duck to court in a case that will be closely watched by the startup community.
Prominent Melbourne investor Adir Shiffman is taking a startup he invested in to court in a dispute that puts a spotlight on the rights of minority shareholders in private companies and raises questions about the involvement of investors in the businesses they fund.
The case, between Shiffman and Sleeping Duck, an e-commerce mattress startup, is set for trial next week on Monday, 16 October and has worked its way up to the Supreme Court of Victoria.
At the heart of the dispute is a shareholder’s agreement which granted Shiffman a 10% stake for $100,000 and an option to acquire another 10% of the company. Shiffman, who was subsequently diluted when the company issued shares to other investors without his knowledge, is seeking orders to restore his 20 percent shareholding in Sleeping Duck, or damages.
A procedural ruling on Tuesday in which Shiffman successfully contested documents that Sleeping Duck was seeking to subpoena, set the scene for what will be a closely watched trial.
In Tuesday's 45-minute ruling on the document-access stoush, Associate Supreme Court of Victoria Judge Catherine Gobbo “struck out” three of Sleeping Duck’s four subpoena requests.
