Youngstown Crab Company closes following ownership dispute

Staff report

LIBERTY

The Youngstown Crab Company, 3917 Belmont Ave., announced Monday it is permanently closed.

The announcement came as a result of a Trumbull County court ruling that the corporation be dissolved after what the company described as “ownership deadlock.”

The co-owners, who each own 50 percent of the company, filed complaints against each other, which began in 2015 with co-owner Robert Cerimele alleging his partner, Sally Grabovac, misused company funds.

Grabovac then filed her own complaint against Cerimele alleging he had embezzled $5,000 from the corporation.

Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Magistrate Jami Bishop found that the funds central to each party’s claims belonged to the corporation and no single individual.

Due to their inability to reach an agreement on the day-to-day management of the business, the court ruled in favor of dissolving the corporation and dismissed Grabovac’s counter-claims. The parties will split the court costs.

Grabovac, the defendant in the case, was opposed to the dissolution.

A court-appointed receiver will oversee the closure of the business.

The Youngstown Crab Company was in operation for 18 years.