Becker (Joseph A.) v. Becker (Carl R.) and

This is a stockholder's derivative action to recover unreasonable compensation paid to corporate officers. The plaintiff, Joseph A. Becker, owned 20 percent of the stock of the J. H. Becker & Sons, Inc., which operated a funeral home in the city of Milwaukee. On April 29, 1966, he transferred the stock to himself as a trustee for the benefit of his children. The complaint alleges that by reason of their ownership and control of 60 percent of the corporate stock, defendants, both individually and as trustees, caused the corporation to enter into employment contracts with themselves on November 10, 1965. The complaint alleges that, pursuant to a contract of that date, the defendant Carl R. Becker, a director and shareholder, received an annual salary of $30,000 a year, with certain reductions in that amount after the passage of time. The complaint also alleges that another director and shareholder, Mary Helen Peters, entered into a contract by which the corporation agreed to pay her the sum of $10,000 a year.