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Former Conseco executives Steve Hilbert and Rollin Dick are caught in a bitter legal battle between hardware king John Menard and his ex-fiancee.
Debra Sands, a lawyer from Eau Claire, Wis., says the billionaire promised her a big ownership stake in his business empire - including a 20-percent interest in MH Equity, the $500 million, Menard-funded private equity firm that Hilbert and Dick run.
In a lawsuit filed two years ago in Wisconsin, Sands claims she was Menard's "primary" business adviser. She says she was extensively involved in everything from his chain of 215 hardware stores and IndyCar team ownership to his big stake in locally based Haverstick Consulting, an IT and military con tracting firm also owned by Hilbert and Dick.
Sands, who is in her late 40s, and Menard, who is at least 70, lived together for eight years before splitting in 2006.
"Sands was involved with virtually every aspect, and at virtually every level, of Menard's various enterprises and holdings," the suit says.
Menard denies Sands played such a large role.
"She was my girlfriend and is now my very disgruntled ex-girlfriend," Menard said in a statement e-mailed by his spokesman. "I'm sure the courts will work it out in due course."
The case has led to disputes in Indiana courts with Dick and Hilbert.
An MH Equity affiliate sued Sands in Marion County in 2009, saying she wasn't licensed to practice law in Indiana when she worked for the firm, and seeking to recover $170,000 in fees.
Dick's holding company, Helen HCI, sued Sands in Boone County in March 2009, saying her Wisconsin case caused "collateral damage" to it and other Haverstick Consulting shareholders.
Settlement talks in the two cases broke down, and both ended up before the Indi ana Court of Appeals.
Hilbert, who co-founded Conseco and is now CEO of MH Equity, could not be reached for comment. Sands also could not be reached: Her attorney, Daniel Shulman, declined to discuss the case.
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