What they say:
"If the defendants had not taken these inappropriate and illegal measures, Sears would have had billions of dollars more to pay its third-party creditors today and would not have suffered the amount of disruption, of expenses and job losses resulting from his recent declaration of bankruptcy. "
– The company's lawyers wrote Thursday in a court filing
Sears says Lampert has declined a $ 1.6 billion bid for Lands & End and the investment group Tommy Hilfiger. The accusations, according to CNBC, suggest instead: "Lands' End has been distributed to Lampert, ESL and other Sears shareholders without consideration, as a result of a priority dividend of $ 500 million. On the first trading day of the stock, its value reached $ 1 billion, of which Lampert's share is at least $ 490 million.The stock currently has a market value of 591, $ 3 million. "
- The case also suggests that Lambert has approved the sale of 266 of Sears' most profitable sites to Seritage Growth Properties – a real estate spin-off it has created – for $ 649 million, less than market value, by CNBC.
A spokesperson for ESL Investments Inc. told Axios: "ESL Investments, Inc. vigorously disputes the claims in the debtors' claim against ESL", and the allegations are "misleading or simply false".
The big picture: Lampert was Sears' largest shareholder and Felix Salmon of Axios, his main creditor before his entry into bankruptcy protection. As the main creditor of the company, he ended up owning the company during his post-bankrupt incarnation. But as the dominant shareholder of the company before bankruptcy, he is vulnerable to lawsuits from disgruntled lenders who have lost billions of dollars.
Go further: The cannibal of Sears
