Three Pennsylvania sisters are suing two other sisters, alleging they improperly seized control of a Wilkes-Barre, Pa., home-improvement business called My Brother's Place,
the Wilkes-Barre
Citizen's Voice
reported.
The business, founded by their grandfather, closed in the fall after a court-appointed receiver intervened, the article said.
Plaintiffs Theresa Martin, Toni Madden and Donna Shultz, who say they comprise the majority of the board of directors, are suing Elizabeth Roccograndi and Catherine Podolak, contending the two sisters “mismanaged and wasted the assets” of the business, the article said. The suit accuses Roccograndi and Podolak of breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, conversion and unjust enrichment, the article said.
The three sisters also filed a separate suit alleging that Roccograndi and Podolak raided a trust called the “Sisters Fund” established for them by their late father in the 1970s. The plaintiffs say that the terms of the trust called for Roccograndi and Martin to share duties as fund manager after the death of their father in 2014. The suit says Roccograndi assumed sole control without proper authority, the article said.
The suit filed on behalf of My Brother's Place says the business lost $1.36 million between 2007 and August 2014, when Roccograndi was in charge of the business. The suit alleges that while in charge,
“
Roccograndi sold investments, cashed in certificates of deposit, took out loans and even loaned herself money from the company,” the article said.
An attorney for Roccograndi and Podolak told the
Citizen's Voice
that the three plaintiffs have no authority to sue because the business technically is in control of the receiver and that the suit over the Sister's Fund is “baseless.” (Source:
Citizen's Voice
, June 24, 2016.)
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