TOLEDO, Ohio — Allan Block has been fired as chief executive officer of Block Communications, Inc., his spokesperson confirmed to WTOL 11 Monday night.
Block's firing comes two weeks after he filed a lawsuit in Lucas County Common Pleas Court against his brother, John Block, and other BCI board members. He is seeking an injunction to prevent the sale of BCI properties, which include the The Blade, which began daily publication in 1848, BCI owns Pittsburgh’s largest paper, the Post-Gazette; Louisville, Ky., TV station WDRB-TV; and Buckeye Broadband, a local cable and Internet provider.
Allan Block's spokesperson provided the following statement on his firing:
“The Board fired Allan Block for seeking to enforce his contractual rights in an effort to protect the company and employees from a sale of Block Communications, which could trigger hundreds of job losses in Toledo and Pittsburgh, as well as the potential shut down of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Toledo Blade. Mr. Block believes the Board’s decision is in clear breach of his employment agreement and will be evaluating next steps to remedy this action in court.”
In the injunction request, Allan Block claims that other board members have frozen him out of decisions on the company’s future and have not allowed him to be on the Special Strategic Committee, which negotiates possible sales. He also said the sale could result in the closure of The Blade and Post-Gazette.
The Blade and Post-Gazette combine to employ more than 1,000 people.
Among several items, Allan Block is asking to be placed on the Special Strategic Committee and that he be given complete access to financial books and records.
The case has been assigned to Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Goulding. No hearing dates have been scheduled.