Mitchell Brozik was the owner of a security alarm company known as Secure US Inc. and the assets of the company were purchased by his aunt, Betty Parmer, in May 2012 and he was tricked into agreeing to surrender management of his company by Parmer’s attorney, Sean Murphy, in May 2014, according to a complaint filed in Monongalia Circuit Court.
Brozik claims Kourt was installed by Parmer as manager and in November 2014, bought the assets of Secure US at a federally approved private sale for $3.2 million.
Other companies bid $4.3 million and $4.05 million to buy those assets, but their bids were rejected by Murphy because the terms of the bids and Kourt’s willingness to buy the assets with all the company debts attached.
Brozik claims at the time of the sale, the company owed approximately $800,000 in state tax liens to West Virginia and additional taxes to the federal government for unpaid payroll taxes.
Kourt was aware at the time of the sale of the state tax liens and federal taxes owed and with the sale, it became the successor to Secure US Inc., according to the suit.
Brozik claims at the Parmer trial in November, Parmer testified that she was being harassed by the state tax department for collection of the tax lien of approximately $800,000 and, after the trial, a jury awarded Parmer $1.7 million, including $750,000 for breach of fiduciary duty by plaintiff for incurring the debt, which obviously was based on the state tax lien.
At the same civil jury trial, Parmer and Kourt’s attorneys argued to the court and jury that the other higher bids for the assets were rejected because Kourt agreed to assume the company’s debts. Parmer’s attorney vigorously argued that Secure US’s assets had “two million dollars in boogers” on them in debts, which Kourt was willing to assume, hense their purchase bid of $3.2 million was lower than the bids by other companies.
Brozik claims as a result of the state and federal tax liens, he has suffered great damage to his credit and reputation, humiliation and emotional distress.
Kourt has been unjustly enriched at Brozik’s expense, according to the suit.
Brozik is seeking an order that Kourt is solely liable to pay the taxes to the state tax department and the IRS and award him judgment. He is being represented by Edward R. Kohout.
Monongalia Circuit Court case number: 16-C-189
