The bizarre battle for control of Archie Comics that pitted Co-CEOs Nancy Silberkleit and Jon Goldwater against each other and featured charges of sexual harassment and complaints of an "old boy network," is finally over after both sides agreed to a confidential settlement that will allow Silberkleit, who inherited a 50% share of the company from her late husband, to return to the Archie Comics offices (where she had been banned by court order) and resume her duties handling Archie’s live theater and scholastic initiatives. Jon Goldwater, who inherited 25% of the Archie stock from his father, will control everything else including the publisher’s editorial direction.
But all might not necessarily be settled in the idyllic land of Riverdale with its never-ending succession of visits to the malt shop and school dances. According to the AP, the daughters of Richard Goldwater, who inherited 25% of the company from their father, have accused their uncle Jon Goldwater of misusing Archie assets and Nancy Silberkleit of taking her company salary while still being employed as a teacher. Judge Shirley Kornreich told the Goldwater girls that they had no standing in this case, but that they were free to file their own lawsuit.
The prospect of another lawsuit on top what must rank as one of strangest legal battles in the history of comics probably doesn’t please anyone other than journalists covering the comic book industry. The current lawsuit began back in the summer of 2011 when Jon Goldwater filed suit against his Co-CEO charging among other things that she stormed into a meeting and pointed her finger at the participants yelling "Penis, penis, penis," (see "Archie Files Suit Against Co-CEO"). Silberkleit retorted that she was up against "an old boy network," and charges and countercharges of sexual harassment and intimidation were exchanged as the dispute deepened (see "Archie Gets Injunction").
In January of this year the dispute escalated as Goldwater filed a new suit seeking Silberkleit’s ouster from the company (see "Battle for Riverdale Heats Up"). Then in late January a judge slapped a "Temporary Restraining Order" on Silberkleit (see "Judge Levels TRO on Silberkleit"). Finally in April the New York Times covered the case in a major article that exposed such juicy details as punctured tires, Websites destroyed, and dog turds in the Art Department (see "'New York Times' Dishes Dirt on the Battle for Archie"). Now it appears that Archie’s legal troubles in the executive suite might just be over, unless the Goldwater girls feel the need to "lawyer up" and go for it.
