Judges vindicate John Lees in Mar-Lees Debacle: new owners incompetence ran company into the ground
SEAFOODNEWS.COM by John Sackton - Sept. 29, 2014
In a very harsh summation of the dispute between John Lees - former owner of Mar-Less Seafood in New Bedford, and Julius Numavicius, the Lithuanian businees man who purchased 80% of the company in 2010 for $22 million, a three judge arbitration panel found for John Lees.
The panel said that while the company was profitable in 2010 and had $5 million in net revenue and $70 million in sales, in 2013, the company lost $5 million and its sales revenue has declined by 20%.
This has happened at a time when scallop prices have been at record levels.
The panel sorted out claims and counter claims by saying that although John Lees did technically violate the terms of an over-broad non-compete clause, he did so in a way that benefitted Mar-Lees and brought them additional business they would not otherwise have had.
The panel said Lees was trying to salvage a $6.2 million additional payment for his remaining 20% stake in the company if Mar-Lees met certain performance goals. But this option now has no value.
The theme running through the legal analysis is that Mar-Lees was successful in a highly competitive business because of the personal relationships developed...
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