W.C. Striegel, Inc., a 75-year-old pipeline construction company located in Rangely, Colorado, prevailed in its lawsuit against its founder and former President Larry (Bud) Striegel for breaching his fiduciary duties. The lawsuit was brought derivatively on behalf of W.C. Striegel, Inc. by one of its minority shareholders, William R. Willis.
After an eight-day trial in Rio Blanco County, the jury returned a verdict in favor of W.C. Striegel, Inc. finding that Larry Striegel had diverted $1.4 million from the company for his personal use. The jury also found that Larry Striegel’s daughter, Teri Wilczek who is the Controller of W.C. Striegel, Inc., breached her fiduciary duties to Willis by improperly shorting him on his annual bonus.
Willis became a shareholder of W.C. Striegel in 2011 when he purchased his shares from Larry Striegel and Randy Striegel. Willis filed the derivative lawsuit in late 2019. Willis was fired from
W.C. Striegel shortly afterwards by the other shareholders who are all members of the Striegel family. Willis is the only shareholder in W.C. Striegel, Inc. that is not a member of the Striegel family.
After the lawsuit was filed, the Striegel family countersued Willis alleging breaches of fiduciary duty and breaches of promissory notes. The Striegel family claimed $4.9 million in damages against Willis on the fiduciary duty counterclaims. The jury, however, rejected the fiduciary counterclaims and found Willis not liable. The jury further rejected the amount that Larry Striegel and Randy Striegel claimed was due on Willis’ promissory notes. The jury found that the amount due was actually $1.7 million less than what Larry and Randy Striegel originally demanded.
The Court further awarded W.C. Striegel prejudgment interest against Larry Striegel in an amount of approximately $400,000 in addition to the jury verdict. Willis is currently seeking an award of his attorneys’ fees and costs.
Willis was represented by the Ferguson Schindler Law Firm, P.C., a civil litigation and trial firm based in Aspen, Colorado. www.fsaspenlaw.com
HOPEWEST PRESS RELEASE | Special to the Herald Times
