Lynn Tilton Is Suing Small Companies She Once Led for $30 Million
Turnaround executive Lynn Tilton is suing troubled small businesses she once ran, after stepping away from leading them as the COVID-19 pandemic tore through the economy, The Wall Street Journal reported. Tilton has filed lawsuits in New York against metal refiner Libertas Copper LLC, employment agency Snelling Holdings LLC, shower-curtain maker Glenoit Universal Ltd., game-controller maker FSAR Holdings Inc. and 11 other companies that she had managed for years. In the aggregate, the complaints are seeking more than $30 million in management fees, tax distributions and indemnity from the companies, which can’t pay their lenders. For years, Tilton collected millions of dollars in fees from what was known as the Patriarch portfolio of companies, a collection that included more than 75 businesses, according to the website of Patriarch Partners LLC, Tilton’s management affiliate. Some companies in the portfolio, such as fire-engine maker American LaFrance and fabric maker Duro Textiles, shut down, with or without the benefit of bankruptcy. Other companies, and their debts, were combined, and it is unclear how many businesses remain in operation.
