Published Thursday, Aug. 12, 1999 Control of Werner Co. changes (Oct 10 1997) Family feud erupts over Werner Co. stock(March 21 1998) |
Elizabeth Werner, daughter of one of the company founders, Leo L. Werner, and her two sons sued other members of the family after they sold their stock back to Werner Co. before its value jumped when the company was sold. Investcorp Group, a Bahrain investment bank that also owns Saks Fifth Avenue, Gucci and Tiffany, bought a majority stake in Werner Co. for $123 million.
Sugar Grove Township-based Werner is the nation's largest ladder manufacturer.
In the year-old suit, Ms. Werner claimed she and her sons wouldn't have sold their stock had they known the sale was imminent. She alleged that she and her sons would have received an additional $2 million if they had waited for the buyout. She also said other members of the family gained more than $90 million when the company was sold.
U.S. District Judge Robert Cindrich ruled that Ms. Werner and her sons were not misled nor were they kept ignorant about the sale.
Ms. Werner's attorney, Richard Gladstone II, said his clients will appeal Cindrich's ruling and bring a similar claim in state court.
Defendants named in the suit included the company, top executives and dozens of Werner family members.
Other parts of the suit alleged Werner executives omitted and concealed facts about the 1997 Investcorp buyout, that they received excessive profits and that minority shareholders received less compensation for their stock than they should have.
The suit also alleged that Leo Werner was tricked by grandnephew Eric J. Werner into signing over his stock in 1992 while he was hospitalized and under medication.
Gladstone said Cindrich dismissed four counts with prejudice and those will be appealed. The remaining 16 counts were dismissed without prejudice and Gladstone said the plaintiffs will pursue those in state court.
Gladstone said a separate case has been filed in Mercer County Orphans Court to oust Eric J. Werner as executor of Leo Werner's estate. Leo Werner, who was company president from 1964 to 1977, died in 1996.
Eric Werner, a member of the Werner management team, did not return a phone message left Wednesday at his office.
However, when the suit was filed, he called the allegations "baseless,'' "factually misconstrued'' and "without merit.''
