CEO Behind $70K Minimum Salary Is Sued by Brother

Complaint is about 'aggregation of events'
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 21, 2015 7:17 PM CDT
CEO Behind $70K Minimum Salary Is Sued by Brother
Gravity Payments, a credit card payment processor based in Seattle.   (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

The feel-good story about a CEO who is taking a pay cut so he can pay all his workers at least $70,000 a year just hit a sour note. He's getting sued by his brother, reports the Seattle Times. Lucas Price, a co-founder of Gravity Payments, filed the suit less than two weeks after his brother Dan's grand gesture, but Lucas Price's attorney says that wasn't a motivating factor (indeed, the complaints were first signed a month before that gesture). "It was an aggregation of events over the course of years," says attorney Greg Hollon. The suit does involve one salary, though: It accuses Dan Price of paying himself too much—he was reportedly making $1 million before pledging to cut his own salary to $70,000—and of depriving his brother of "minority-shareholder benefits."

"Since gaining majority control, Daniel has engaged in a campaign designed to enrich himself and favor his majority interest in Gravity Payments to the detriment of Lucas and his minority interest," says the complaint, as quoted by GeekWire. Gravity processes credit card payments, to the tune of $6.5 billion last year. In a separate filing, Dan Price denies the accusations, adding, "I deeply regret the rift this has caused in my relationship with my brother, who I love, and I'm hoping and praying for a quick resolution that’s positive for everybody." Barring a settlement, they'll head to trial in May. (Here's why Price said he was cool with cutting his huge salary.)

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