Marsh Sues Former President

MARK HAMSTRA

INDIANAPOLIS — Marsh Supermarkets here has filed a lawsuit against former president David Marsh, alleging that he stole about $500,000 from the company for his personal use.

The suit is a counterclaim against a previous suit filed by David Marsh, who was fired in February, in which he alleged that the company had been underpaying his salary and benefits by about $33,000 per year.

In the counterclaim against him, the company said he used vouchers to obtain payment from the company for certain personal expenses, including travel for him and his family to Africa and New Zealand, and that he also stole money from the company's petty cash. The suit seeks repayment and punitive damages.

Reached at his home in Fishers, Ind., David Marsh declined comment to SN.

The suit alleges that when Marsh was fired in February, he should have been fired “for cause,” which would have voided his salary continuation benefit and a lump-sum payment for insurance benefits.

“If, on the basis of newly discovered evidence, Mr. Marsh's employment is terminated for ‘cause,' then Marsh Supermarkets will owe him nothing under the employment agreement,” the counterclaim states.

An attorney for Marsh Supermarkets also declined to comment on the case.

Jodi Marsh, former vice president of community relations and the former wife of David Marsh — the two reportedly filed for divorce shortly before she left the company in February — also filed suit earlier this year against Marsh Supermarkets, seeking $2.16 million in compensation she said she is owed.