Jury Sides With Big Cheese in Mozzarella Family Feud
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty
The global kingpin of mozzarella cheese fended off a lawsuit from two of his nieces— seeking nearly $1 billion in damages—after a jury decided that James Leprino and other major shareholders had not financially “oppressed” them as alleged.
The decision, handed down on Friday, put to rest a two-year battle that cast a rare spotlight on the reclusive billionaire whose namesake company sells cheese to fast-food giants like Papa John’s and Domino’s.
In the original complaint, filed in Denver District Court in July 2020, Mary and Nancy Leprino alleged that their uncle, his daughters, and his son-in-law had operated the company “for their own financial reward while depriving the minority shareholders of their legal rights and financial interests.”
The nieces own about 17 percent of Leprino Foods between them; their sister, Laura, did not participate in the litigation, though she owns a small stake.
In their complaint, the plaintiffs sought to depict their uncle as greedy and cold. They were especially piqued about financial maneuvering that followed a $400 million distribution from the company to Leprino, his kids, and related parties in 2017. (The plaintiffs were separately paid $90 million.)
After the disbursement, James Leprino and his co-defendants loaned their payouts back to the company. The nieces said the arrangement would generate more than $28 million in annual payments to the defendants—a windfall that wasn’t extended their way.
“It wasn’t fair,” Nancy Leprino declared during the trial, according to testimony reported by The Denver Post. Her uncle’s team, meanwhile, maintained that the nieces had the opportunity to earn greater returns by putting their money to work in other wayselsewhere, since the loans were issued at a modest interest rate.
Managers at Leprino Foods test the cheese consistency and stretch in their cheese at their headquarters in Denver.
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