Chairman Robert Van Tuyle of Beverly Enterprises...

Chairman Robert Van Tuyle of Beverly Enterprises Inc. said he regards as “frivolous” a shareholder lawsuit filed by New York stockholder William Steiner. The suit alleges that Beverly executives and directors fraudulently manipulated company results and depressed the price of company stock to facilitate a management buyout in 1986. Van Tuyle said: “We regard this suit as frivolous and will strongly defend ourselves against it.”