A group of Liberty Tax shareholders is suing the company’s founder, chairman and ex-CEO John Hewitt for refusing to give up control after credible evidence of wrongdoing was discovered.
The board of Virginia Beach-based Liberty Tax fired Hewitt from his chief executive position in September. Since then, Hewitt refused to sell back stock that allows him to pick a majority of the board, and replaced two of his board appointees. Two more independent board members and the company’s chief financial officer also announced their resignations.
The Asbestos Workers’ Philadelphia Pension Fund filed its derivative complaint in Delaware’s Court of Chancery on Monday, claiming Hewitt “has used his power in a breach of his fiduciary duties to escape consequences for his actions that have done grave harm to the company and continue to do so.”
