Derivative actions were developed in response to the difficulties arising from the strict rule imposed by Foss v Harbottle (1843) 2 Hare 461, that in any action in which a wrong is alleged to have been done to a company, the proper claimant is the company itself.

YOU ARE REQUIRED to discuss the difficulties that have arisen from the strict application of the rule in Foss v Harbottle and the manner in which the courts and legislature have facilitated the development of derivative actions.