Question
Ken and Terry's Ice Cream Pty Ltd (Ken and Terry's) is a small proprietary company that produces ice cream. Ken and Terry's has 3 directors
Ken and Terry's Ice Cream Pty Ltd (Ken and Terry's) is a small proprietary company that produces ice cream. Ken and Terry's has 3 directors Ken, Terry and June, who are also shareholders with 26% each of shares in the company. The remaining shares in Ken and Terry's are held by 5 other individuals who are long-time friends of the 3 directors.
Ken, Terry and June founded Ken and Terry's back in 1970 after meeting at a confectioner's convention in the United States. However, in recent times, the relationship between Ken, Terry and June has become very poor. In fact, Ken knows that Terry and June want to remove him from the company, or to at least punish him for some reason. Terry and June have not been inviting Ken to Board meetings, and so Ken has very limited knowledge of current events at Ken and Terry's. Out of desperation, Ken decides to take a look at the company's books. He discovers by chance that Terry and June have recently transferred company property (to the value of around $500K) into Terry's name. Ken also discovers that Terry and June approved unusually high "consulting" fees to a company which, upon further investigation, turns out to be owned by Terry. When Ken asks Terry and June for their clarification on these hidden transactions, they inform Ken they will use their 52% voting power to fire Ken from his job as a director in Ken and Terry's. Terry and June claim that Ken "has never properly performed in his job as director" and that he "hasn't got a clue about the business".
Question: Have Ken, Terry and/or June breached their directors duties?
Make sure you use I.R.A.C. to structure your answer and make reference to the relevant sections from the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and case law.
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