Dart Group Corp. posted a huge fiscal-third-quarter loss yesterday, nearly 100 times that of a year earlier, partly because of legal battles between Chairman Herbert Haft and his sons, Robert Haft and Dart President Ronald Haft.
Landover-based Dart, which owns major stakes in Crown Books, Trak Auto, Shoppers Food Warehouse and other businesses, said its loss for the three months that ended Oct. 31 was $68.6 million, or $36.91 a share.
Excluding $67 million in charges, the loss was $1.6 million, or 86 cents a share. A year earlier, Dart lost $687,000, or 44 cents a share.
The company said its losses included $21.8 million a jury awarded to former Dart President Robert Haft in September. Robert Haft had claimed he was wrongfully fired. Dart is appealing the verdict.
Dart also took an $8.6 million charge for legal costs it expects to incur as Herbert Haft and Dart's board try to invalidate stock options the chairman gave his son Ronald.
Another large charge, $22.6 million, stemmed from leases on three warehouses that Dart rented from Haft family partnerships. The company no longer needs the warehouses, and the charge covers Dart's lease obligations to the partnerships.