Disthene Seeks Appeal Rehearing

Published 4:39 pm Thursday, March 14, 2013

On the heels of a decision by a Writ Panel of the Supreme Court of Virginia to refuse a request for appeal by The Disthene Group, Incorporated, Guy Dixon, President of Kyanite Mining Corporation, verified on Wednesday that Disthene is requesting a rehearing.

The Disthene Group, Inc. includes Kyanite Mining Corporation, Blue Rock Resources, L.L.C., and the Cavalier Hotel.

The initial petition for appeal was prompted by the ruling of Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Jane Marum Roush, judge designate for Colgate, et al. v. The Disthene Group, Incorporated, a civil case heard in late spring 2012 in the Circuit Court of Buckingham County.

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In that case, Curtis Dixon Colgate, Sharon Marie Newcomb, and Marion J. Colgate, Sr. sought the dissolution of Disthene and the distribution of its assets on a pro-rata basis to all the shareholders.

According to court documents filed with Buckingham Circuit Court, Curtis Dixon Colgate and Sharon Marie Newcomb are the children of the late Jeanne Dixon Colgate, the sister of Gene Dixon, Jr., and the daughter of the late Gene Dixon, Sr. and Mallie M. Dixon. Marion J. “Boyd” Colgate, Sr. is the widower of Jeanne.

Much of the trial pivoted on minority shareholder oppression, with both sides presenting their respective arguments for or against the dissolution.

On August 30, several months after the lengthy courtroom trial proceedings, Judge Roush advised that the Court would enter an order granting the plaintiffs' request that The Disthene Group, Incorporated be dissolved.

Subsequently, Judge Roush entered a Court Decree on September 6, ordering the dissolution of The Disthene Group, Inc. pursuant Virginia Code Section 13.1-749.

Responding to the judge's ruling calling for the dissolution, lawyers for Disthene began the appeal process with the initial Notice of Appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia in September.

Commenting on the rehearing request, Dixon offered, “Despite all that has happened so far, the Disthene Group, and the Dixon family, continues to have faith that this country's institutions work, and that justice will be done in the end.”

He stated, “We believe this because it remains inconceivable to us how a highly successful 70 year-old company, one that has been, by any realistic measure, incredibly generous to its shareholders over its long life could be destroyed by a court for

shareholder oppression, of all things.”

Dixon continued, “What makes this even harder to understand is the fact that Kyanite Mining Corporation has been a pillar of this community for all of those decades providing good jobs for the hard-working people of Southside, support for its civic and public organizations, and responsible stewardship of its environmental responsibilities.”

The fourth generation of his family to work at Kyanite Mining, Dixon concluded, “But even if our faith turns out to be misplaced, nothing can change the truth-Kyanite Mining Corporation is a great company, built and propelled forward by good, honest and hard working people. It is a company that takes all its responsibilities to its customers, its employees, its community, the environment and its owners seriously. We are immensely proud of it, and no outsider's opinion can change that.”