Stronach family embroiled in legal battle over business
A recent story online revealed that the Stronach family is involved in a dispute over the business Frank Stronach founded. The dispute is mainly between Frank Stronach, the founder of Magna International Inc. his daughter, former MP Belinda Stronach and several other parties. Magna International Inc. is a large automotive parts company.
The amount in dispute is $520 million. One of the allegations by Mr. Stronach is that his daughter froze him out of the business he built. Additionally, he is alleging that his daughter mismanaged the family business. According to another story, there are allegations that Belinda has taken more than $70 million in company money to maintain an extravagant lifestyle.
Apparently, Mr. Stronach and his wife Elfriede Stronach made considerable efforts to resolve the matter without going to Court. The parties could not settle the dispute. As a result, they started the lawsuit as a last resort.
In response, Belinda has denied the allegations and confirmed that her side will be responding to the statement of claim in due course. None of the allegations have been proven in Court. In a statement released to the media, Belinda has stated that family relationships within a business can be challenging.
Outcome of Stronach family dispute presently unclear
The possible future outcome of this dispute is unclear. Most legal matters settle well ahead of trial. This seems like a good scenario for a mediation as it involves members of the same family. Mediation would keep details about the business private and away from public scrutiny. This is one possible incentive to settle early. The longer this dispute drags out, the more details will emerge about the family business from Court documents. Furthermore, as this dispute involves a wealthy and famous family, the media will be watching the latest developments closely.
Nonetheless, if the Stronach family dispute does not settle, the parties have more than adequate financial resources for a lengthy legal battle. A far better outcome would be for the parties to settle early in the dispute. This will be an interesting story to follow.
More on this story here.