Nancy Leprino is back in court and turning up the heat on the family business. The granddaughter of the clan behind Denver-based Leprino Foods has filed a new lawsuit accusing the company’s majority owners of trying to push her into what she calls a “lowball” payout. The civil complaint, filed last week, asks a Colorado court to force the company either to issue dividends or buy out her stake at fair market value. If that is not on the table, she wants the court to appoint a receiver or, as a last resort, dissolve the company altogether. The filing names relatives and dozens of trusts as defendants and casts the clash as both a fight over valuation and a claim of oppressive treatment. It also drags corporate governance at one of the region’s heavyweight private manufacturers back into the spotlight.
According to The Denver Post, the complaint names Leprino Foods, Terry Leprino, Gina Vecchiarelli, Dan Vecchiarelli and 26 trust funds as defendants. The Post reports that Nancy says she tried to sell her shares to an unidentified buyer tied to a large private equity firm, but that the majority shareholders cited a restriction in the company’s founding documents to shut down the deal. Her legal team includes Jason Murray, Kenzo Kawanabe, Sean Grimsley and Noah Nix of Olson Grimsley Kawanabe Hinchcliff & Murray, the Post notes.
What the suit alleges
The complaint accuses the controlling family of breaching fiduciary duties and engaging in “illegal or oppressive conduct,” as summarized by Law360. It claims the majority owners arranged discounted buyouts of other family shareholders in spring and summer 2024, and that those deals paid about $100 million for stakes Nancy contends were worth roughly $400 million each.
Company background and why the fight matters
The Denver-based Leprino Foods, long run by James Leprino and now controlled by other family members, is the world’s largest producer of mozzarella and supplies major pizza chains. It was last valued at about $5 billion in 2021, according to The Denver Post. The family feud itself is not new. It has simmered for years and survived a high-profile trial in 2022, as detailed by Forbes, which chronicled earlier courtroom battles.
Legal stakes and possible outcomes
As Law360 notes, courts handling disputes between minority and majority owners in closely held companies can impose a range of remedies. Those can include a court-supervised buyout or appointment of a receiver, although judges typically reserve the most extreme steps for clear cases of oppression. A lot will ride on how the court views the company’s value, whether Leprino Foods followed its internal procedures, and whether the buyouts Nancy highlights were truly arm’s length transactions. Early motions and discovery are likely to shape whether the case settles quietly or barrels toward a full-blown valuation showdown.
For Denver and the company’s workforce, this is largely a governance drama, not an immediate threat to day-to-day plant operations. Still, if Nancy’s claims prevail, the outcome could significantly reshape who controls Leprino Foods or how it is run. Court scheduling and any public response from company leadership will be the key signals of whether this latest family fight fizzles out or escalates.
