Two West Bloomfield companies are battling in court over which gets to support a local underprivileged family. Both the Malcolm Group and Herner-Lents claim rights to the Millingtons.
“We approached them first,” says Malcolm Attorney Shirley Becker. “Our goal was to boost employee morale by helping a poor family.” The Millingtons were ideal: Al, father of three, had lost his utensil sales job, and his wife Marie was suffering from an unnamed deficiency.
But when Herner-Lents found out about the plan, it offered the Millingtons $10,000, provided it have exclusive support rights. The family accepted.
“There aren’t too many poor families in West Bloomfield,” says Herner’s lawyer, Sheila Montaigne. “Our employees deserve to have good morale, too.”
Malcolm countered with $12,500 – plus a $1500 clothing allowance – and Herner-Lents came back with $15,000. It was then the two companies decided to resolve the matter in court.
The family, meanwhile, has yet to receive any assistance, and last week lost its home to foreclosure.
