Hostile Takeover at the Grocery Counter
A local businessman alleges he was coerced into signing away his stake in the Haley Grocery Company under threat of public disgrace.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The first engagement in the Haley-Hill litigation over the affairs of the Haley Grocery Company yesterday resulted in a victory for the defendant. Judge Lichtenberg refused Haley's petition to have the business placed in the hands of a receiver. John Haley, the plaintiff, alleged in his affidavit that he was accused of theft and embezzlement by Joseph B. Hill and others. Haley claimed that Hill threatened to make his alleged theft public, which would disgrace his wife and children, if he did not sign over his stock and resign as vice president. Haley stated he was forced to sign the contract while in an 'unconscious and semi-conscious condition' after being plied with whiskey by Hill. He later sought legal advice to reclaim the $5,000 he alleges he was robbed of. Judge Lichtenberg refused to appoint a receiver for the stock but granted a temporary injunction to restrain Hill from disposing of it.
“If he didn't sign it he (Hill), holding the majority of the stock, would vote him out and make public the fact that he was a thief, so that his wife and children would be disgraced.”
Business disputes involving 'forced' resignations and allegations of fraud remain common, though modern courts are generally more skeptical of signatures obtained under duress. The legal battle highlights the early days of corporate structure in Seattle, where personal vendettas often played out through the control of local commerce.
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