TOLEDO, Ohio — The owners of The Blade are engaged in a court battle that could decide the fate of Toledo’s oldest continuously run business.
On Wednesday morning, Allan Block, the CEO of Block Communications, Inc., filed a lawsuit in Lucas County Common Pleas Court against his brother, John, and other BCI board members. Allan Block is seeking an injunction to prevent the sale of BCI properties.
Besides 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.
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.
A spokesperson for Allan Block provided the following statement:
“Allan Block is trying to stop self-interested family members from pursuing a fire sale of Block Communications that could lead to hundreds of job losses in the local Toledo and Pittsburgh communities, as well as the potential shutdown of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Toledo Blade. It is unfortunate that certain Block family members would choose to further enrich themselves at the expense of local jobs and the communities that depend on local news coverage.”
WTOL 11 reached The Blade Wednesday and they did not yet want to comment.
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.
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