Emak Worldwide Inc., which has been fighting a group of dissident shareholders, on Monday said its parent company and administrative subsidiary has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization.

The West Los Angeles marketing services company said that all other Emak operating subsidiaries are excluded from the Emak Worldwide Service Corp. filing made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. Operations of Equity Marketing, Logistix, Neighbor and Upshot agencies and operations in Asia are expected to continue uninterrupted, it said.

A group of angry shareholders led by former Chief Executive Don Kurz in September filed a lawsuit against nine Emak directors and officers alleging fraud and breach of duty. Kurz at the time accused Emak management of “hubris, self-interest and gross incompetence.”

The company said the Chapter 11 decision resulted from the protracted litigation and a recent interim award from the Chancery Court of Delaware against Emak which it was not permitted to immediately appeal. The board concluded that stakeholders would be better served by commencing a bankruptcy proceeding than by the company reducing its cash by paying the interim award.

Emak said it plans to seek reversal of the interim award and resolve the litigation.

“We have a problem at the holding company which has absolutely no connection to our agencies’ day-to-day operations,” Chief Executive Jim Holbrook said in a statement. “The actions we announced today will allow us to resolve these issues in an organized manner and to put them behind us. We want to reassure our clients that we will continue to serve their needs during this period.”

Shares fell 15 cents, or 47 percent, to 17 cents in midday trading on the pink sheets.