Green Mountain ousts 2 board leaders over trading

WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) — Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. says it has removed its chairman and another board member from their leadership roles after a drop in the company's stock price forced them to sell shares in violation of internal policies.

The coffee company's stock price has plunged in the past week. That triggered a margin call for Green Mountain's founder and chairman Robert Stiller and its lead director, William Davis, and forced the pair to sell a total of more than 5.5 million shares.

Some of those sales occurred in a time period that violated company policy and Green Mountain said Tuesday that it has forced both Stiller and Davis to relinquish their leadership positions.

The company also has mandated that Stiller and Davis settle all outstanding margin loans by the end of 2012.