(Bloomberg) -- Edward Rogers has taken his fight for control of Rogers Communications Inc. to a judge, arguing to British Columbia’s top court that he has the right to unilaterally replace directors at the Canadian wireless and cable company. 

The only son of company founder Ted Rogers filed a petition asking the court to validate his appointment of five new directors and his reappointment as chairman. If the court agrees, he will again have the control of the board and the ability to change management. 

Among the claims made in the petition is that Loretta Rogers, Edward’s mother, initially supported the firing of Chief Executive Officer Joe Natale, as did his sister Martha Rogers, before they changed their minds. Natale would have left the company on Oct. 1 if the plan had been carried out, the documents say.  

It’s the latest chess move in an ongoing power struggle that has pitted Edward against his mother and two of his sisters, Melinda Rogers-Hixon and Martha Rogers. The family has been publicly sparring for weeks. 

Voting Rights

His family members helped block the attempt to dump Natale, and last week the board removed Edward Rogers as chairman. But because he’s also the chair of the family trust that controls 97% of the voting rights in the company, he pushed ahead with an effort to replace five independent directors on the 14-person board with his allies. 

That new group met Sunday night and issued a statement that the reconstituted board had reappointed him as chairman. Rogers Communications, Loretta Rogers, Melinda Rogers-Hixon and Martha Rogers all say the new board is illegitimate and the previous board remains intact under recently-appointed Chairman John MacDonald. 

As a result, the company is in an extraordinary position -- with two different men claiming they are chairman and two different factions of the family claiming to have control of the board. 

The timing couldn’t be worse as the firm pushes forward with a $16 billion takeover of rival Shaw Communications Inc. The deal has the potential to transform Rogers, bolstering its wireless network in Western Canada and giving it the national heft to compete against larger rival BCE Inc. 

Shares of Shaw have fallen well below the takeover price of C$40.50 per share as investors worry the transaction could be delayed or fall apart altogether -- though Shaw has said it remains committed to closing the sale.

Martha Rogers has said family members will fight her brother’s plans and “spend every penny defending the company, employees” and the wishes of Ted Rogers, who passed away in 2008.

The court will now be tasked with untangling the dispute and determining whether Edward Rogers or MacDonald is the legitimate chair of the company. 

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.