A Pima County Superior Court judge said Monday that she will rule soon on whether the ousted president of Tucson-based Lisa Frank Inc. must sell shares of stock that earned him more than $50 million in dividends during the past 10 years.
Company namesake and majority owner Lisa Frank is suing her husband, James A. Green, who was the company president and chief executive officer from 1990 until October 2005.
Frank filed for a divorce from Green in September; they married in 1994.
Frank is trying to consolidate control over the privately held company she founded in 1979.
In September, she filed suit to remove Green from the company's management and board of directors. In October, he agreed to step aside as president. Green had overseen the company's day-to-day operations, according to court filings by Frank.
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She owns 51 percent of the company stock. Green owns the rest. Frank and Green were the company's only directors until recently, when they were joined by a prominent Tucson attorney, Thomas Chandler.
On Monday, Superior Court Judge Deborah Bernini lifted an order that had barred Frank from firing employees.
Bernini said in court that she will probably rule this week on a motion by Frank to require her husband to sell his stock back to her.
Frank claims that a contract between her and Green says that in the event of a divorce filing, she can buy back all of Green's stock.
Green says the two agreed to void the contract years ago, so he's entitled to keep the stock.
Green is not being asked to repay $50 million in dividends that he has earned, according to court filings.
Over the past 10 years, Lisa Frank Inc. has sold more than $550 million in merchandise to retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, according to court documents filed by Green. The company began by making stickers and branched into clothing, backpacks and stationery.
The company employs about 80 people in Tucson, according to court filings by Green.