Kozol Brothers (KBI) is the MillerCoors distributor in Joliet, Ill., and environs. Plus, it distributes Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Boston Beer and Heineken products.
It’s now the center of a family feud that has spilled over into the courts in which Michelle, Stephanie and Tony Kozol sued their brother, Ed, who is also the trustee and beneficiary of the Kozol Family Trust as well as an officer, director, president and registered agent of KBI as well as the president and registered of Askem, which facilitates leasing transactions for KBI.
At one of the funeral services for their father, Ed “pulled the Minority Shareholders aside and presented them with a blank signature page,” the lawsuit says.
“Never anticipating that their brother would take advantage of their grief, the Minority Shareholders signed the blank signature page. It was not until November 2017 that the Minority Shareholders received a full copy of this Stockholders Agreement … Pursuant to the Stockholders’ Agreement, Ed was the only voting shareholder of KBI and assumed all control over KBI and its operations,” the lawsuit says.
Since then, Ed hasn’t shared information about the various entities with minority shareholders, entered into an employment agreement with himself that gave him a base salary of $470,000 and a 2 percent increase every year after that, plus bonuses when appropriate.
And, the lawsuit alleges, KBI “no longer follows the Stockholder’s Agreement provisions.”