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This article was published 11/9/2014 (2201 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THERE'S a power struggle brewing at one of Winnipeg's microbreweries and it appears as if the CEO is on the way out.

Court documents have been filed in a dispute between Nicole Barry, CEO of Half Pints Brewing and David Rudge, brewmaster of the eight-year-old maker of beers such as St. James Pale Ale, Little Scrapper IPA and Stir Stick Stout.

Nicole Barry

A statement of claim filed by Barry, alleges Rudge changed the locks of the brewery while she was on a camping trip with their children in July. The pair divorced several years ago.

She alleges Rudge effectively terminated her employment and told the staff she was no longer CEO. She described his actions as being in "bad faith, malicious, high-handed, callous, defamatory in nature and in violation of the company's constitution."

She further alleges she was not given any notice of termination or payment in lieu of notice and to the best of her knowledge, no board meeting had been convened to deal with terminating her.

In her statement of claim, Barry says she has suffered harm, damage and loss of income and benefits as a result of Rudge's actions.

Barry's lawyer, Troy Harwood-Jones, said cooler heads have prevailed since the affidavit was filed in mid-summer and the parties have sat down to talk things over.

"It looks like we'll be able to resolve things on an amicable basis. There needs to be some parting of the ways and we're working on that right now. Everybody is committed to working together and Half Pints wishes Nicole well," he said.

Rudge's lawyer, Jeff Palamar, declined to discuss the situation except to say the parties are working towards a "proper" resolution.

Both Rudge and Barry own 27 per cent of Half Pints' shares while a dozen other shareholders own the remaining 46 per cent. Neither Rudge nor Barry were available for an interview for this story.

The upstart microbrewery, which opened in 2006, has won numerous awards for its innovative beers and is available in dozens of restaurants, pubs and lounges in Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage la Prairie and across the West.

It has annual revenues of about $1.8 million and 16 employees.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca