In a significant legal development, over 300 minority shareholders of Cable & Wireless Barbados (C&W) have reignited their fight in the Barbados High Court, seeking a ruling on the contentious 2017 merger between C&W Barbados and C&W West Indies Limited. The group, spearheaded by Kenneth Ricky Went, Omstand Investment Inc., and Phillip Osbourne, filed fresh legal submissions last week, asserting that their rights were overlooked during the amalgamation process. Their case draws strength from a recent landmark decision by the UK-based Privy Council, which ruled in favor of minority shareholder Eric Jason Abrahams in a similar case involving Cable & Wireless Jamaica (CWJ). The Privy Council’s ruling emphasized that minority shareholders must be treated as a distinct class when their shares are being canceled or bought out, a principle the Barbados claimants argue applies directly to their situation. Representing the claimants, Senior Counsel Garth Patterson highlighted that the Privy Council’s reasoning aligns with their position that minority shareholders should have been allowed to vote independently on the merger. The claimants contend that the approval process failed to meet the legal requirements under Barbados law, as minority and majority shareholders were treated as a single voting class despite their divergent interests. With the Privy Council’s decision bolstering their argument, the minority shareholders are now urging the Barbados High Court to either invalidate the 2017 merger or recognize the process as oppressive and grant substantive relief. The case also names nine defendants, including Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies. Went, speaking on behalf of the claimants, expressed optimism about the pending judgment, citing the Privy Council’s decision as a source of confidence.