FORTIS SUES ABELE OVER FILM FEST(S)

Shepherd Express Publisher Claims "Unjust Enrichment"
"Theft"
on Part of Former Benefactor of Film Fest

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com

By Michael Horne

And The Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team, Cannes Bureau

Shepherd Express owner, president, editor-in-chief, publisher, CEO, etc., Louis Fortis and his Milwaukee's Future Foundation, former operator of the Milwaukee International Film Festival [MIFF] filed suit against Chris Abele, Kyle Heller and Milwaukee Film Incorporated in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on Friday, April 17th 2009. The Intentional Tort action, Case 2009CV005837, was assigned to Hon. John J. DiMotto, [U Wisconsin '74] Branch 41.

The complaint, [Fortis PDF] filed by Attorney Edward R. Garvey [U Wisconsin '69] of Madison, accuses the defendants of:

• unjust enrichment,
• misappropriation of confidential information,
  
• misappropriation of good will,
  
• computer crimes and
  
• theft.

Abele, through his Argosy Foundation, provided funding from 2003-07 for Fortis's MIFF, described in the complaint as "a widely known and prestigious Milwaukee event."
In 2008, Abele et al "used unlawful measures as a way to gain control of the Festival," the complaint alleges.
Specifically:

• "by misappropriating the Festival's assets, confidential information and good will,
  
• using property stolen from the Festival's office and computers, and
  
• unjustly enriching themselves,
  

the Defendants, acting willfully with intentional disregard for Plaintiff's rights, succeeded in stealing the Plaintiff's business."

Abele founded Milwaukee Film to operate a revived festival this year from Sept 24th to October 4th. No festival occurred in 2008. Unlike Fortis's insular board of directors, Abele gained a high profile mix for his festival, including Mayor Tom Barrett, Julia Taylor, Mariane Lubar, Patricia Keating Kahn and others beyond civic reproach. He hired Diane Bacha, editor of the former MKE to be executive director.

According to a press release by Fortis and festival co-founder Dave Luhrssen:

"After five very successful Festivals, Chris Abele, who was one of many donors to the Festival, but who was not a board member or involved in any official capacity, decided that he wanted to control the Festival, and mounted a campaign to oust Fortis as the Festival’s leader. Fortis and Luhrssen, who put six years of their lives into creating a world-class film festival, tried to negotiate with Abele to reach an amicable solution and preserve the Festival for Milwaukee, but to no avail. Through a series of unlawful activities as documented in the 'Complaint,' Abele forced the Festival out of business and created a new nonprofit corporation, Milwaukee Film, to run the Festival without Fortis."

The contest pits two outsiders with big ambitions in Milwaukee. Fortis, from Madison, arrived in Milwaukee and set about transforming the Shepherd Express alternative newsweekly from a co-op into an organized business. In the process he sharpened the paper's editorial focus, gradually narrowing it until it reflected the opinion of one person: himself.

Abele, of Boston, made a splash in Milwaukee with grandiose promises for the Argosy Foundation, tied almost entirely to the fortunes of Boston Scientific, Inc., founded by his father, John Abele. Abele's hankerings for high publicity did not always sit well with Milwaukee's establishment, which prefers its philanthropists to hold day jobs unrelated to their charities and to support causes not always their own.

Perhaps some sense of the dynamics involved can be found in the comments of Luhrssen, as expressed in the press release:

“This is America,” Luhrssen said. “No one is above the law no matter how much money they or their family has. We have great respect for the court system and we look forward to our day in court and having the defendants under oath explaining their actions.”

Looks like the target is the Abele family money. Will they pay to make this go away, or turn this into an episode of Boston Legal? Or a script for a future Film Festival submission? I'm guessing being accused of theft in court might bring out the fighting spirit in the Abele clan.

[Full Disclosure: I warned Abele in 2003 he would regret his involvement in this situation.--Ed.]

FUN FACT:

Abele may have had reason to incorporate his own festival so as not to be subject to responsibility for the enormous liabilities incurred by Milwaukees (sic) Future Foundation. An examination of its 2007 IRS 990PF [pdf] shows the organization with accumulated liabilities of $281,056, in the form of "other payables." Some of that sum would be due to the Shepherd Express newspaper.

[Changed April 24th 2009 -- Records show {incomplete records available at Foundation Center} the foundation filed tax documents for the years 2003 and 2007 only. The tax returns for 2005 and 2006 are at Guidestar.org; I have not yet found 2004, but assume it to have been filed.--Ed.]
The 2003 return is a dandy, [pdf], handwritten document showing a $50,000 loss in the first year of operation. It bears a footnote that "The publisher of Alternative Publications, Inc. [Fortis] appoints the board of directors."
--Michael Horne

[Update: Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 -- Bruce Murphy, who covered the schism of Fortis and Abele last October in Milwaukee Magazine made a brief comment on the current case in a recent post in which he very kindly directed the reader to milwaukeeworld.--Ed.]