Edward Rogers has won his court case: he has been officially reinstated as President of Rogers Communications.

Edward Rogers is once again Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rogers Communications Inc.

The telecommunications heir has prevailed in a court case he initiated to confirm his power to remake the company’s board of directors using only a written resolution.

On Friday afternoon, British Columbia Supreme Court Judge Shelley Fitzpatrick said she was granting the ruling Edward was seeking and would award him costs. He did not read the reasons for his decision aloud, but instead distributed a written version to the attorneys present.

That means Edward, who is chairman of a family trust that controls 97.5 percent of the company’s voting shares, doesn’t have to wait until a shareholders’ meeting to remove and replace five members of the board of directors.

The legal dispute began with Edward’s frustrated attempt in September to remove Joe Natale as CEO. When the board rejected and instead fired the candidate Edward had in mind for the top job, he began a campaign to remove a list of five independent directors and replace them with his own nominees.

The original board of the company voted to remove Edward as president, but the new board subsequently re-elected him to the position. He filed a court petition last week, seeking confirmation that he could remove and replace the directors in writing and without going to a shareholders meeting.

Edward is fighting members of his own family on the matter: his mother, Loretta Rogers, and his sisters Melinda Rogers-Hixon and Martha Rogers, who also sit on the company’s board of directors and back the independent directors that Edward replaced.

(David Peterson, who is one of those independent board members, is also a vice president of Torstar Corp., which owns Toronto Star.)

Judge Fitzpatrick listened to arguments from attorneys representing both parties throughout Monday and took a week to make her decision. The case has attracted intense media interest and more than two dozen reporters packed an overflowing room outside the courtroom on Friday.

The ruling gives Edward “full power,” according to governance expert Richard Leblanc, who commented on the various possible outcomes before the ruling.

Leblanc, a professor of governance, law and ethics at York University, said the fight has highlighted that Edward Rogers’ role as chairman of the family trust “can be used to intentionally set the terms you want.”

“And he has always wanted the CEO role. He would not rule out directors appointing him as CEO and if any director disagrees, he will do the same again: he will simply take 97 percent and remove directors who disagree. . “

Rogers is based in Toronto, but was incorporated in British Columbia decades ago, which is why Edward took the case there.

The BC Supreme Court is the court of first instance and if Edward’s family or the company, which was the defendant in the case, want to challenge the judgment, they have the automatic right to appeal to the BC Court of Appeal. But that won’t guarantee a speedy hearing on the matter.

They could request an expedited appeal or stay of the judgment, which would stop the effect of the judge’s decision until an appeal can be heard. But it could be difficult to convince the Court of Appeals that any of those steps are warranted, said Irvin Schein, a litigation partner at Minden Gross LLP.

“No one’s life or freedom is at stake here,” he said. “There is no fire here as far as the court is concerned. This is a private business and yes, it is big business, but I don’t see a catastrophe arising during an appeal period that could (justify) a suspension. “

An appeal could also lead to a delay in the company’s plan to acquire Shaw Communications Inc. for $ 26 billion. Both parties have said they remain committed to the deal. “The more you challenge this and fight in court, the longer the deal takes,” said Dave Heger, senior equity analyst at Edward Jones.

Before the ruling, Leblanc and other experts predicted that a court victory for Edward would mean a swift exit for Natale as CEO of the company.

“If Edward wins, what he will do immediately is put his team and his directors in their place and Joe Natale will leave,” said Richard Powers, associate professor at the Rotman School of Management. “If Edward wins, he’ll move things at lightning speed.”

Other members of Natale’s 11-person executive team, including the head of the important wireless division, are also likely to part ways with Rogers.

Heger said Edward “has made it pretty clear that he wants to remove Joe Natale and other unidentified executives. I would assume that if he is successful in the court case, he will take action on it. “

Others may also want to leave on their own.

David Fuller, who is president of the company’s wireless division, was in line for a position on the new management team that Edward was forming. But Fuller said in an affidavit last week that he had no idea about that plan and hinted that he would not have agreed to it.

“The reason I joined Rogers was because of the opportunity to work with Joe Natale,” Fuller said. “My highest preference would be to continue to do so.”

If Natale and a large number of company executives leave, it could cause some short-term disruption for Rogers, Heger said. “Not only in connection with the acquisition of Shaw, but it would also have an impact on the business (daily).”