The parent company in turn transferred 60 percent of its profits to the trusts, with about two-thirds for taxes. After that, 75 percent of Opus West's income went to the parent, with about half of that designated for taxes, Ryan said. Company policy was that 10 percent of pretax income went to charity. The company has held that the dividends Opus West paid to its parent were proper and part of the normal course of business. "It proves that our money - little guys like me in the world - is sitting in the foundation of a very wealthy family and they know they stole my money. He had crews working on Opus jobs in Arizona when Opus West filed for bankruptcy in 2009, he said, and he had to lay off workers. Anderson figures Opus owes him about $350,000. Kelly Anderson, CEO of a Scottsdale, Ariz., electrical contractor called JENCO Inc., and an Opus West creditor, when told of the settlement, said it shows Opus was in the wrong. Most of the projects it was left holding - strip malls, shopping centers and office buildings spread across California, Texas and Arizona - have been sold off.Ĭhris Akin, a lawyer for Opus West in Dallas, confirmed a settlement was reached but would only say that it was "mutually satisfactory." The settlement comes as the liquidation of Opus West winds down in bankruptcy court in Dallas. "There's a point at which it's cheaper to settle something, even when you're right, than continue to litigate," Ryan said. and the Rauenhorst family trusts, would say only that the lawsuit had no merit. The two lenders were owed more than $260 million.Ībout $3 million will be shared among the roughly 150 Opus West employees who lost their jobs when the Phoenix-based company filed for bankruptcy in 2009, sources said.ĭennis Ryan, a lawyer for Opus Corp. Most of the remaining $30 million will go to the two top creditors in Opus West's bankruptcy: Bank of America and Wells Fargo Bank. Court records show the case was officially dismissed April 29.Ībout one-third of the settlement - $15 million - will go to lawyers, sources said. The two sides secretly settled last month in Dallas for $45 million, days before the case was to go to trial, the sources said. It was seeking about $325 million to cover unsecured claims, according to two people familiar with the case. Opus West was once one of the most profitable of the Opus regional companies. Thomas, whose business school is named for the company. It took personal aim at the Rauenhorsts, calling the company's reputation for ethical leadership and charitable giving "a carefully-cultivated myth." The Rauenhorst foundations have been big donors, particularly to Catholic causes, including University of St. in 2009, naming the developer, top brass as well as two trusts for the Rauenhorsts, accusing its owners of a "voracious appetite for self-dealing" and bleeding it dry. The subsidiary, Opus West, sued Minnetonka-based Opus Corp. has quietly settled another federal lawsuit involving accusations the onetime megadeveloper improperly stripped millions of dollars from a subsidiary, all to fatten the family trust funds of its owners, the Rauenhorst family, and make big donations to charities.
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