Allan Block will be returning to his role as CEO of Block Communications Inc., the parent company of The Blade and Buckeye Broadband, company officials announced Thursday.
“BCI is pleased to announce that its shareholder dispute regarding the ongoing exploration of strategic alternatives has been amicably resolved,” the statement reads. Karen Johnese and John Robinson Block will serve as chairman and vice-chairman, respectively.
The announcement came a day after a status conference was canceled about Allan Block’s lawsuit against BCI. According to Lucas County Common Pleas court officials, they received word on Tuesday that the conference scheduled for Wednesday had been vacated and a new date would be announced later.
According to the statement from the company, the lawsuit has been dismissed.
In early May, Allan Block filed a motion in Lucas County Common Pleas Court seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent his brother, John Robinson Block, and other members of the family from selling the businesses.
Claiming they “caused BCI to form a strategic transaction committee to pursue a merger or acquisition of the company,” in his lawsuit, Allan Block demanded he be placed on the committee exploring the possible sale of the company, the committee be barred from exploring the possible sale of the business until he was placed on the committee, and the committee be barred from spending corporate funds until he was made a member of the committee.
On May 20, less than two weeks after Allan Block filed the lawsuit, BCI’s board of directors voted to place him and two other individuals — Jodi Miehls, BCI’s president and chief operating officer, and John Straub — on the Exploratory Strategic Committee immediately, effectively meeting his most urgent demands.
At the same meeting, however, the board removed Allan Block from his position as CEO and chairman of the board. He remained a shareholder and on the board of directors.
First Published October 3, 2024, 7:28 p.m.
