Sibling Awarded $45.2M for Lunds & Byerlys Stake

Following a drawn-out family dispute that wound up in court last February, Kim Lund has been awarded $45.2 million for her stake in the Lunds & Byerlys supermarket chain, an amount far below the $80 million she sought, but more than double the $21.3 million the company offered her, according to a published report. Kim, the eldest of the four siblings who equally own the Twin Cities supermarket chain, including CEO Russell “Tres” Lund, had sued to cash out of the company.

Kim; her other brother, Robert Lund; and her sister, Shauna Lund McFeeley don’t participate in the company’s operations.

According to the ruling of Hennepin County Chief Judge Ivy Bernhardson, Kim will receive $2.3 million — 5 percent of the award — within 90 days of a final, nonappealable order, with the rest to be paid over 20 years through a note that bears 2.75 percent annual interest, the Star-Tribune (Minneapolis) reported.

“I sincerely appreciate the judge’s efforts and hope that my brother Tres will accept the court’s decision so that the companies and our family can move on and get back to the work that benefits the community,” Lund said in a statement released through her attorneys.

In its own statement, Lunds & Byerlys, which can appeal the ruling, said that it was “currently in the process of reviewing the judge’s decision and determining our next steps, adding, “We have made, and will continue to make, every decision in this process with the utmost integrity, respect and fiscal responsibility.”

The company contended that the full amount sought by Lund would have caused it to incur a “crippling” amount of debt.

The judge also ruled in favor of removing Tres as co-trustee of Kim’s Lund trusts, but rejected Kim’s preferred replacements, appointing U.S. Bank instead.

“The sad truth of this case is that the bitterness defining the current relationship between Kim and Tres, in conjunction with the fact that they have been litigating against one another for nearly three years, has eradicated their ability to collaborate and their ability to rely on each other in any capacity,” Bernhardson noted in her ruling.

Kim, a retired teacher, said she wished to give away most of the money she stands to receive.

At presstime, a Lunds & Byerlys spokesman had not responded to a request from Progressive Grocer for comment.