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Kozlowski resists wife's demand for financial information

NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Tyco International Ltd.’s imprisoned former chief executive officer L. Dennis Kozlowski is resisting his estranged wife’s demand for financial information.The Bermuda company’s former CEO, 60, “has refused to produce even one document which may reflect his present wherewithal”, lawyers for Karen Kozlowski, 45, said in court papers in Palm Beach County, Florida.

In a reply, his lawyers said he was never served with divorce papers so the disclosure wasn’t mandatory within 45 days of her July 31 filing. They asked a judge to dismiss the divorce petition for lack of service.

The former executive may not want to reveal his finances for many reasons, according to divorce lawyers and attorneys in civil suits against him. Kozlowski, convicted in 2005 for looting the company and selling its stock after artificially inflating the price, has been sued by investors seeking compensation.

“One motivating factor may be making it difficult for the shareholders who he has victimised to track those assets down,” said Jay Eisenhofer, a co-lead counsel in a shareholder securities class-action suit pending against Kozlowski and Tyco. “I’d be shocked if it wasn’t.”

Kozlowski may not be able to resist for long. Palm Beach Circuit Judge Stephen A. Rapp signed an order on January 19 extending the period in which he can be served. At the same time, he denied Karen Kozlowski’s demand for immediate disclosure.