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©Associated Press
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 15, 2001
GAINESVILLE -- Relatives of former home run king Roger Maris will seek $2.5-billion in a breach-of-contract lawsuit against beer giant Anheuser-Busch, the family's attorney said Wednesday.
Maris passed the lucrative beer distributorship covering the Ocala-Gainesville region to family members after he died in 1985, but Anheuser-Busch canceled the deal soon afterward.
"It created an opportunity for them to do what they're doing, to oust the family," said attorney Willie Gary at a news conference in Gainesville.
Gary recently won a $240-million verdict against Walt Disney World and is representing plaintiffs in discrimination cases against Microsoft and Coca-Cola.
The Maris family lost a related court case against the St. Louis-based corporation in federal court last year. The latest lawsuit is scheduled to begin April 30 in Alachua County Circuit Court.
Describing Anheuser-Busch as "greedy," Gary said Maris and his family worked hard to maintain the beer distributorship, worth about $20-million.
The company "is out to drive this family out of business," Gary said.
"This family is not asking for charity, but justice," he said. "They'll fight for what they believe in. They're truly an All-American family."
John Jacob, an Anheuser-Busch vice president, disputed Gary's assertion that the distributorship was revoked without cause. The contract was terminated because the Maris group falsified records and allowed stale beer to be sold.