Pizza Pizza Partners Fall Out Over Slice Of The Pie

Globe and Mail:

Lorn Austin and Michael Overs have been close friends and business partners for more than 30 years. Together they built Pizza Pizza Ltd. into one of the largest pizza chains in Canada with 501 restaurants.

For years, the two men were a formidable team. Mr. Overs was the quiet company founder who remained largely in the background while Mr. Austin served as the public face of Pizza Pizza, taking on franchise holders and pushing the company into new areas. Mr. Overs and Mr. Austin were so close that they went into other businesses together, basing many of their dealings on a handshake.

The two friends have now had a bitter falling out. Mr. Austin is suing Mr. Overs and Pizza Pizza, alleging they breached a 1996 deal to give him partial ownership of the company. In court filings, Mr. Austin, 56, says he had a heart attack in 1995 and claims his friend took advantage of his vulnerability.

Mr. Overs and Pizza Pizza deny the allegations and filed a motion to have the case dismissed. In a recent ruling, an Ontario judge threw out parts of Mr. Austin’s suit but allowed his claim for a stake in the company to proceed to trial.