Widows of two of the four brothers who owned Clair Auto Group, one of New England’s largest auto dealership chains until the company was sold three years ago, have sued their brothers-in-law, alleging that the brothers tried to “bully” the widows out of the company’s remaining assets,
the
Boston Globe
reported.
The women accuse their brothers-in-law of “using the money to fund an extravagant lifestyle,” the article said.
According to the report, Claire M. Clair, the widow of James Clair Jr., and Jane M. Clair, the widow of Mark Clair, allege that Joseph Clair and Michael Clair
“conducted a campaign of coercion against” them “in an effort to bully them into abandoning the valuable ownership interests” in Clair Auto Group … which still held land and proceeds from the sale of nine major dealerships.
Michael and Joseph Clair deny the allegations, an attorney for the business told the
Globe.
Before Mark Clair’s death, the family had agreed to sell most of the dealerships to Prime Motor Group for $80 million, the article said.
Most of the sale proceeds were distributed to the [brothers] or their families and are not in dispute. But other assets valued at about $20 million, including real estate and cash, remained in Clair Auto Group. The brothers were supposed to wind down the remaining business and distribute the rest of the money to the shareholders when possible, according to the widows’ lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that Joseph and Michael Clair tried to get their sisters-in-law to sign over their ownership interest because the women had collected proceeds from their husbands’ life insurance policies, the
Globe
reported. The brothers also “allegedly pressured the widows to turn over their stock because of tax concerns, and argued the women had not been shareholders or partners in the business since the deaths of their husbands.”
An attorney for Claire Clair said the widows had not received detailed financial reports from the company, the
Globe
article said. (Source:
Boston Globe,
April 23, 2010.)
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