Orange County Choppers Lawsuit Saga Update
Commentary
Apparently the latest round of lawsuits featuring Orange County Choppers, Paul Teutul Sr. vs. Paul Teutul Jr. went in favor of Paul Jr. with a December 14, 2010 ruling. According to court records Paul Jr. can retain his 20% share of Orange County Choppers until he sees fit to sell and is under no obligation to sell to his father Paul Teutul Sr. This on-going saga of on and off screen antics continue to fuel the TV phenomenon that many believe has gone “way past” good entertainment and now verges on the edge of “enough is enough” for many viewers.
The Teutuls and their companies have been no stranger to the court room as lawsuits abound concerning their original Orange County Iron works and Orange County Choppers. In 2007 O C Iron Works, Inc. was charged of bankruptcy fraud by New York state officials as the Orange County TV show skyrocketed to fame. Paul Jr., Paul Sr. and brother Daniel were accused of moving assets into another company, Orange County Iron Works LLC, to avoid paying outstanding debts against the original fabricating company.
Justin Barnes a local painter who contributed to several of Orange County motorcycles filed a lawsuit against in 2009 charging copyright infringement against Discovery and Orange County. Family members of Justin told the Monster of multiple hardships the OCC group inflicted on Barnes small business as he provided them with art and painting work for little or no money. According to sources, Justin had many broken promises from OCC that decimated Justin’s small business.
The latest Appeals court decision on December 14th reversed a lower courts ruling and frees Paul Jr. to continue to own his 20% ownership in Orange County Choppers. Paul Sr. had sought a legal remedy that would force Jr. to sell Sr. his 20% back to him. A lower court ruled in favor of Sr. but the recent appeal went in favor of Jr. Of course now the subject of declining Orange County assets come up as Jr. has sought information on the companies’ financials and even had his number crunchers take a peek at the books.
After years of on going feuds over Paul Jr’s work ethic and time of arrival at work, Sr. gave Jr. 20% minority interest in the company in 2007. His (Paul Sr.) belief (according to folks inside OCC) was that rightful ownership in the company might give Jr. more incentive and improve his work habits.
Tensions heightened in early 2008 as OCC prepared to open it’s new facility and the relationship between father and son eroded further. Paul Jr. and father tried another approach and signed Jr. to an employee agreement. By the end of 2008 Paul Jr. was fired again. The problem with that firing was that broke an agreement with Discovery TV as the exit of Jr. would certainly harm the entertainment value of the TV show.
In early 2009 another agreement was constructed that gave Jr. contractor status and the saga and TV show continues.
Questions remain concerning the value of Orange County Stock, movement of assets of the corporation, and more importantly the viability of OCC and continued interest in the TV show. Insiders say employee numbers are low at OCC as the slow economy continues and motorcycle sales lag nation wide.
