HARRINGTON, Maine — A judgement in a lawsuit that originally ordered L.L. Bean to pay Washington County Christmas wreath producer Worcester Wreath Co. $961,811 was reduced Friday in Maine Business and Consumer Court by $304,363.
After reviewing the accounting included in the original suit, Justice A.M. Horton reduced the amount owed to $657,448.
The judgement settles a contentious and long-lingering dispute over balsam goods production during the 2008 holiday season.
In his original ruling, Horton found that L.L. Bean had ordered more wreaths and other balsam products that year than it was ultimately able to sell. As a result, he ruled that Worcester was entitled to compensation for ramping up for production and purchasing components needed to make those products — balsam tips, decorations and wire wreath frames that were never sold.
“L.L. Bean has always acknowledged that it owed Worcester something for the purchase orders in dispute and was willing to pay — and in fact tried to pay — Worcester,” L.L. Bean spokesperson Carolyn Beem said Friday. “The dispute was how much Worcester claimed it was owed, and claimed much more than which it was entitled. The resulting judgment is in the range of what Bean had offered in settlement at the beginning of the litigation, and in fact less than offered prior to the litigation.”
Merrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreaths, said Friday that the new judgement was under review by his attorneys. He declined to comment further.
Greed gets you now where. This gentleman will now get less than LL Bean offered him AND he needs to share this money with his lawyer.
got to know when to hold ’em know when to fold…
If you actually knew the man you wouldn’t make that comment.
You mean he isn’t going to share it with his lawyer?
I wouldn’t consider that greed……….a company needs to be compensated for work, materials etc. I would vote for Worcestor before Beans seeing how his company doesn’t work out of China!
How do you know what LL Bean offered Mr.Worcester? Did the amount change over time? Why did he refuse it if the amount was so appealing? Hmmmm
The article is pretty clear that he was offered more than he got in the lawsuit. As for why he’d refuse, one can only assume that he thought he could obtain more.
So who is Bean going to go with this year for their wreaths…
They haven’t bought from Worcester in a few years. The first year was the year that the mail orderwreaths turned yellow. You get what you pay for. They should have stayed with a Maine company
a maine company using canadian brush to supply ll bean with maine made products. thats why whitneys has the contract, because they use localy picked brush from maine!
We’ll FYI ,Whitney’s Wreaths are made in Maine mostly from yellow Canadian imported brush, with decorations, imported from China built with a Mexican and Hondoran labor force and the wreaths are one sided LOL. Worcester Wreaths are at least made with brush ,picked off Worcester’s land. Morill Worcester was smart enough to purchase vast amounts of land in which he planted millions of fur trees, although Worcester does use some imported labor he also hires local residents. In my opinion Worster makes a very high quality wreath as compared to Whitney’s, not to mention Morill Worcester and his wreaths across America program which is a very patriotic jesture to Americas veterans and fallen solders.
Wow, what have you been smokin’? Both have used both Maine and CDN brush. And, Wreaths across America is a moneymaker for Morril, pure and simple. The idea is super, don’t get me wrong, but he has perverted the idea to a pure money-maker. Ask yourself this: How much does his wife make as CEo of W.A.A.???
If you look at most medical/dental companies……………the family is on the payroll and they never work there. No different to have his wife be CEO.
According to their form 990 for 2009, the answer is zero.
Page 10 indicates no compensation for officers and directors. Total payroll of $39,268.
Total income that year was $1.6 million.
http://irs990.charityblossom.org/990/200912/208362270.pdf
If you look at Wreaths Across America’s audited financials, it paid Worcester Wreath $3 million in 2009-2010. http://apps.sos.wv.gov/business/charities/readpdf.aspx?DocID=130098
OK.
But I was responding to Bigfoot15’s question, “How much does his wife make as CEo of W.A.A.???”
The question wasn’t how much did they pay Worcester Wreath.
But, it appears to be one big financial pot, as it is with family businesses. Her “salary” could be a very misleading measure of what she and her husband earn from what appears to be a symbiotic relationship between these companies.
Sure it’s symbiotic, some might say incestuous, but it is above board.
They declare on form 990 that they are buying the wreaths from Worcester Wreath, an “interested person” in IRS parlance. These documents are available for public inspection, so they aren’t hiding anything.
Any income Worcester Wreath gets from WAA is taxable to Worcester Wreath.
If you are uncomfortable with it, don’t donate. There are other wreath laying charities out there. Although I’m sure you’ll find they also have similar connections.
It’s impossible to know if it’s above board without an audit, but, you’re right. I’m sure that many charities work this way. I’m just not sure the public really understands it. They think that wreaths are being given away by Morrill Worcester, when, in fact, he’s selling them at a profit.
This has bothered me for a long time. However, they are to be commended for a strong marketing campaign that cons many people into believing they are 100% altruistic.
You have no idea how many “likes” I wish I could give this post.
There are no Maine made wreaths anymore. The wreaths are made with Canadian Brush and Illegal Alien Mexicans.
Whitneys, I’m pretty sure, has been supplying them since the dispute. Exclusively, I don’t know.
I’ve been very disappointed with the quality of the wreaths over the last few years!
How many did you buy?!?!?
What’s that in his nose?
I can’t believe I looked.
S’not what you think.
I can’t believe you looked.
Nice catch. Mining for gold in court when it was right at his fingertips.
I dont know how Merrill does it? To stand there and receive award after award knowing that the whole time that wreaths across american is nothing more than a marketing ploy, Merrill a great american? maybe to illegals he has hired over the years. BUT To all of the cracked basement walls his see-ment company has left, to all of the illegal cutting and wet land damage his wood company has left, to
the amount government (ouR) money he has received from fake monthy reports from his power house and for all the car accidents from the roads that were supppose to be plowed……The academy award GOES…. for keeping a straight FACE …..Morrill
Whitney’s did supply LL Bean after Worcester lost the contract, but then Whitneys lost it because their products were being made elsewhere, bought, and then sold under Whitney’s name. BDN must be bored if this was a headline.
Dear BDN: Don’t your people proofread the articles they write? Tom can’t decide if it’s “judgment” or “judgement.” It’s judgment, by the way. And is he talking about “Morrill” Worcester or “Merrill” Worcester?
Shame on any of you that come on here and trash either one of them! Especially the ones that live here. At least Morrill and David are doing SOMETHING and not sitting back collecting, like many reading this very paper do!
I hope Bean take some of the lessen amount (money) and uses it for better customer service training for their employees. Seriously gone downhill these several years!
This whole ordeal is crazy, it’s “Wreathanity.’
Worcester sprays herbicides on his 10,000 acres using cheap foreign labor, which he houses all year in steel buildings away from public sight……..then he has them cut down all the hardwood trees to burn…………then doesn’t plant balsam fir trees but waits for them to grow.
He for years sprayed pesticides (don’t know if he still does because I see some of his land overgrown with a spreading grass the blueberry growers brought in) on his blueberry land, which pesticides get into our drinking water in these parts.
He’s made huge, huge messes of wetlands, sprayed pesticides over other people’s homes and lands, and………..
he’s gotten the highest environmental fine ever in the State of Maine for what he burned in his peat-burning (and other things) incinerator in Deblois.
You be the judge.
Why not skrew this guy over, Bean has been skrewing customers and employees over for years…