Ohio media heir sues twin brother in fight over family fortune

Allan Block, heir to an Ohio-based media empire that includes the Blade of Toledo and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, sued his twin brother and other family members Wednesday, claiming they are pursuing a “fire sale” of the business against his wishes.

The suit, filed in Lucas County Common Pleas Court in Toledo, Ohio, asks for a court order preventing a sale, and that Block be added to a special committee looking at strategic alternatives for the business.

Block, who serves as chairman and chief executive officer of Block Communications Inc., said his employment agreement gives him control over day-to-day operations, including strategic transactions. His twin brother John serves as publisher and editor-in-chief of both the Pittsburgh paper and the Blade. They each own 25% of the company, according to the suit.

John Block sent a letter to the board in December saying he had hired an adviser to sell his stake, according to the complaint. He also asked that they consider selling the whole business. The company then formed a special committee, without Allan Block, to consider a deal, according to his complaint.

In the suit, Allan Block said his brother was investigated by the company for alleged “abusive treatment of subordinates” last year, and that John harbors resentment about not being named chief executive.

“If John Block cannot be CEO, then he wants to destroy BCI as the members of the Block family know it,” according to the complaint.

In an email from a spokesperson, Allan Block said he’s trying to “stop self-interested family members from pursuing a fire sale of Block Communications that could lead to hundreds of job losses in the local Toledo and Pittsburgh communities, as well as the potential shutdown of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Toledo Blade.”

John Block didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. He told his own newspaper in Toledo, “I have always been committed to, and remain committed to the Blade and the Post-Gazette, and the company that my grandfather started.”

The Toledo-based company was founded by German immigrant Paul Block in 1900. It generates hundreds of millions in revenue annually, including from TV stations and a cable-TV business, according to the filing. At the Post-Gazette, members of five unions — including the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, which represents reporters, photographers and other newsroom employees — have been on strike since October 2022.

The case is Block v. Block Communications, Inc., G-4801-CI-0202402348-000, Lucas County Court of Common Pleas (Toledo, Ohio).