A decommissioned Litchfield power plant played a key role in a $56-million legal case involving descendants of the founder of Anheuser-Busch and a Missouri-based energy company.
The Endicott Generating plant was shuttered in 2016, after serving the Michigan South Central Power Agency for nearly 35 years.
The plant was purchased in 2017 by Michigan HUB LLC, a subsidiary of Kirkwood, Missouri-based Innerpoint Energy.
The company was developing technology that turned landfill waste into energy.
According to Saint Louis Magazine, initial problems, including equipment failures and a fire at the startup of a plant in Cedar Hill, Missouri, put the company in a financial bind.
The company’s leaders, including CEO Glenn Foy and Dennis & Donald Moore, who are descendants of the Anheuser-Busch family, faced questions from investors.
Meanwhile, a 2016 Michigan law requiring utilities to use more locally-generated power caused the Litchfield plant’s value to skyrocket.
As Innerpoint Energy was failing, a buyer offered to pay $53 million for the Litchfield Facility..
However, attorneys for the shareholders say Foy, along with the Moores, hid the information from investors.
They claimed the company was in financial trouble.
In 2018, shareholders were informed that the company was insolvent and declared a total loss.
The shareholders sued Foy and the Moores, accusing them of breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy. Evidence showed they held back crucial details about the plant’s value and misled investors. A jury last week found that Foy and the Moores acted out of greed, ultimately leading to a judgment against them for nearly $56 million in damages.
Attorneys for Innerpoint are expected to appeal the judgment.