were to be at the mercy of a special resolution majority at a general meeting, unless they were rights attached to particular shares.’ So, he said that the phrase ‘was intended by the legislature to cater for the variation or abrogation of any special rights given by the memorandum or articles of a company to any class of members, that is to say, not only rights falling into the first category I have described, but also rights falling into the third category.’ The court also held that this applied not just to rights, but also to obligations. So in Rayfield v Hands [1960] Ch 1 the obligation of shareholders who were directors to purchase the shares of non-director shareholders on request was enforceable on the same basis as a class right (or class obligation) of the director-shareholders. See also UK company law Notes References United Kingdom company case law High Court of Justice cases 1986 in British law 1986 in case law