REBEL Jervois Mining shareholders have failed in their bid to oust chairman Duncan Pursell, with the Federal Court dismissing their case.
The feud between a group of shareholders led by then Jervois director Richard Campbell and majority shareholder Norm Seckold against Mr Pursell and other directors culminated in an extraordinary meeting about three weeks ago.
The rebels questioned Mr Pursell over his handling of a deal with China Railways Resources to advance a nickel laterite project and moved a resolution to have him removed from the company
Mr Pursell moved to remove Mr Campbell as a Jervois director.
The results fell in favour of Mr Pursell but the rebels argued the construction of the proxy form was misleading because of a line that said: "The chairman of the meeting intends to vote undirected proxies in favour of each item of business."
If accepted in its purest form, then Mr Pursell would have effectively voted in favour of his own removal.
But Federal Court judge Alan Goldberg ruled that the line could not be read in isolation from the rest of the form.
"I consider that this was no more than an indication, albeit, at that time, a present indication, of the manner in which the chairman, whoever that was, intended to vote," he said.
Mr Pursell declared the verdict "a victory for common sense".
Justice Goldberg ordered Mr Campbell and others to pay Mr Pursell's costs.
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