Village peace is a thing of the past St. Gallen cheese dairy turns into a million-dollar drama
In Lenggenwil SG, village peace is a thing of the past: a controversial president, several court rulings and claims running into the millions have brought the dispute over the former cheese cooperative to a head.
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- A bitter dispute is raging over the liquidation of the Hueb-Taa cheese cooperative in Lenggenwil SG.
- A former expelled member and current president considers the liquidation to be illegal.
- The conflict finally escalated at the end of 2025 when the controversial president demanded over 14 million francs and expelled several members.
The Hueb-Taa Cheese Cooperative (KGHT) was the heart of Lenggenwil SG for over a century. It was liquidated in 2019 after years of mini-profits of around CHF 3,000, reports the St. Galler Tagblatt."Many cheese dairies in the region had to close, the model was no longer up to date," one member told the newspaper.
A cheese cooperative is an association of farmers who jointly operate or lease a cheese dairy in order to process and market their milk directly.
A dispute arose in Lenggenwil: a previously excluded KGHT member had himself elected president at a controversial meeting in 2019 and stopped the liquidation. This was followed by legal proceedings, changing entries in the commercial register and an open power struggle. The St. Gallen Commercial Court removed the controversial Chairman in 2020 and approved the dissolution - but an arbitration court confirmed his membership in 2024.
In September 2025, the man again obtained a change in the commercial register that made him Chairman. He then expelled four long-standing members from KGHT.
"The amounts demanded are abstruse"
The situation then escalated for good: shortly before Christmas 2025, the man sent out demands for payment totaling over 14 million francs. "The amounts demanded are abstruse," says a former liquidator to the Tagblatt newspaper. Another victim speaks of "Trump methods".
The president rejects all accusations in the report. The sale of the property and the liquidation were "illegal", he justifies the claims for millions. He estimates five million francs for the replacement of the cheese dairy alone. He claims he was wrongly deprived of his voting rights at the time.
His aim is for the cooperative to "decide its own fate" - within the framework of the law and the articles of association. The other side is now considering legal action again. The village peace has long been history.
