The Miller family members have not yet filed their formal response to the lawsuit, but Vail Miller Jr. said in a statement to this newspaper today that the lawsuit “is an internal dispute among shareholders” and said business “will continue as usual.
“There will be no change in management. The company is flourishing, and we’re sorry that this suit was filed in our busiest season. We will defend the suit.”
Vontz and his sister Carol Miller each own 50 percent of the voting shares of Heidelberg, and each is a member of the company’s board of directors, according to the lawsuit. Vontz seeks an unspecified amount in compensatory damages and a permanent injunction that would block Miller family members from seizing unilateral control of Heidelberg’s board of directors.
Heidelberg is the nation’s 14th largest beer distributor and also distributes wine and low-powered spirits to much of this region’s restaurants, bars, grocery stores and other retailers. The company spent $20 million to renovate the former Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. warehouse at 3601 Dryden Road along Interstate 75 in Moraine before moving its Dayton-area operations into that facility 17 months ago.
In addition to its Dayton operations, Heidelberg operates facilities in Cincinnati, Evendale, Columbus, Cleveland, Lorain, Toledo and Hebron, Ky. In all, the company employs more than 1,400 and serves more than 20,000 retail accounts throughout Ohio and Kentucky.
The lawsuit is scheduled for its first hearing on Jan. 21, 2015.
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