Sears sues former chairman Eddie Lampert
Posted April 18, 2019 12:41 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NEW YORK — Sears Holdings Corp. is suing its former chairman and largest shareholder Eddie Lampert, alleging the billionaire stripped the once iconic company of more than $2 billion in assets.
The lawsuit also names former Sears directors, including U.S. Treasury Steven Mnuchin as well as executives at Lampert’s hedge fund ESL.
Sears, which operates Sears and Kmart, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, amid years of massive losses and sales drops. Lampert saved the company by acquiring the assets in an auction in February though its unsecured creditors had maintained that Lampert was to blame for its downfall. They cited sales or spinoffs of key assets that they claimed lined Lampert’s own pockets.
ESL says in a statement it “vigorously” disputes the claims and calls them “baseless” and “fanciful.”
Anne D’Innocenzio, The Associated Press
