Dan Gilbert, the Chairman and founder of Quicken Loans, made an unabashed statement earlier this week when he vowed not to settle abusiness lawsuit brought against him by eight former employees of ePrize. The lawsuit was filed in the Oakland County Circuit Court in California and alleges that Gilbert and other investors of ePrize intentionally left out shareholders when the company was sold in August of last year. The suit also names the founder of ePrize as a defendant.
The group of employees had received shares of ePrize's stock as part of a compensation package but when the company was sold for a reported $100 million, none of the eight plaintiffs made a penny. Gilbert states the employees are simply filing a frivolous lawsuit in the hope that someone will write them a check. He says there will be no offered settlement in the case.
The plaintiffs in the case were not only left out in the cold when it came to their share of the company's sale, they received tax forms from the company. Those forms stated they needed to pay taxes on their part of the sale, which they never received.
The company was sold to Catterton Partners, which is a private equity firm. The total selling price was not disclosed at the time of the sale, but the lawsuit states it is around $100 million.
The judge will need to determine if the employees are due a share of the proceeds from the sale of the company and if so, how much each share is worth.
If you believe you are not getting your fair share in a business transaction and have exhausted all means by which to solve the problem, contact an experienced California business litigation attorney for assistance and guidance.
Source: detroitfreepress.com, "Dan Gilbert vows not to settle suit brought by former ePrize workers" John Gallagher, May. 17, 2013
