Who’s in Charge at Staar? Depends Whom You Ask

Some people just don’t know when to quit--even when they’ve been fired.

Last week, Thomas R. Waggoner, founder and president of Staar Surgical Co., dumped all the members on his company’s board of directors except himself. But the four ousted directors fought back, firing Waggoner and locking him out of the company’s Monrovia offices.

The dispute came to a head last week when the board opposed Waggoner’s plans to approve an $11-million licensing and sales agreement with Irvine-based Chiron Opthalmics. So Waggoner, who controls Staar through his ownership of the company’s preferred stock, dissolved the board and replaced it with a new version that included himself, his wife, Patricia, and a vacant seat.

However, the board refused to go along, terminating Waggoner and changing the locks at Staar’s offices. The board also tried and failed to take back Waggoner’s preferred stock that was given to him in return for his personal guarantee of $7 million in company debt.

Trying to Conduct Business by Phone

On Tuesday, however, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge backed Waggoner and issued a temporary order allowing the executive back into his offices. The court had also earlier blocked efforts to rescind the issue of Waggoner’s preferred stock.

Attempts to reach the ousted directors or their attorneys were not successful.

While the dispute was being heard in court, it was not clear who was running Staar, which makes products used primarily in cataract surgery. Waggoner, who was not available for comment, was reportedly camped outside Staar’s offices Monday and Tuesday trying to conduct business on a company phone with a 75-foot cord.

At Chiron, executives were also wondering who was in charge. “We’re waiting to hear like everyone else,” said a company spokesman.