"Storage Wars" participant gets kicked off show and sues

[WhenItWasAHobby]

I've watched this show occasionally and was skeptical about the circumstances and situations involving the auctions. It really couldn't be a true public auction with only the same four parties always winning. Now one of the regulars, Dave Hester, claims much of the show is staged and is not really a "reality show" and was given the boot and now he's suing the show.

See news article:

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...g-report-says/

Here's the lawsuit:

http://www-deadline-com.vimg.net/wp-...1211191310.pdf


Personally my biggest problem with the show was Hester himself grossly over-estimating his winnings and acting like no one else was worthy of being in the show with him. I don't know what kind of agreement or contract Hester had with the show, so I don't know if he even has a case, but it all has the appearance of a lot of sour grapes. If he doesn't like the way the show is run then nobody is forcing him to participate. Why he has to sue them mystifies me.

[alanu]

I watch this show regularly and always assumed they put things in the lockers they on tv, but that they were things they found at some point in time in their buying lockers.

I've heard the cast members mention they lose money on 80% of the lockers they buy and on the show they certainly make money on most of the lockers, but then like you said they greatly inflate the prices that they say the items are worth. Sometimes it makes me laugh.

With that said, Hester would be a loss to the show since he is the "villain", but I'm not sure what he's thinking when he makes those statements, he's almost begging them to boot him.

[D. Bergin]

Reading the filing it seems like sour grapes because they were encouraging others to bid against him by providing cash to the other stars for the bidding process.

Seems his ego got the best of him and he decided to throw away whatever they were paying him to be on the show because they didn't want him to win every locker he bid on, therefore destroying any built up drama on the show.

Going so far as to mention somebody else's plastic surgery in a lawsuit seems ridiculous. It's television stupid..........and the law they were bringing up seems applicable to game and quiz shows to me. When a show has cast members it would seem to forfeit being a "competition" to me.

Obviously most of it is staged. C'mon, finding some single rare antique in the beat up dresser drawer of an otherwise pile of garbage.

I'm sure there's some gold mines out there (forgotten estates, sudden deaths, etc..), but I wonder why most people who abandon these units don't just go in and take out the more valuable items before they stop paying their bills.

[teetwoohsix]

To add on to Dave's last sentence, I've always wondered what's stopping the people who run the storage unit from cutting the lock, going through the items first, and then putting a new lock on prior to the auction. I mean, they just cut the lock off anyway, so who would know?

"Yyuuupppp !!!"

Sincerely, Clayton

[Wymers Auction]

From an auction standpoint this show is "unreality" at best and borders on total fabrication. I think it is funny that people now flock to storage unit sales when they used to be very sparsely attended sales. Brilliant marketing tactic for Storage Unit managers and auctioneers. What is obviously fake to most of us is not so clear to the rest.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Wymers Auction

From an auction standpoint this show is "unreality" at best and borders on total fabrication. I think it is funny that people now flock to storage unit sales when they used to be very sparsely attended sales. Brilliant marketing tactic for Storage Unit managers and auctioneers. What is obviously fake to most of us is not so clear to the rest.

I'll admit the show had a brief allure for me. I thought for about 3 minutes of looking for a storage auction to attend............and then I thought to myself..........but how am I going to get rid of all the garbage in each unit I win?......and remembered my town dump charges like two hundred bucks a pickup truck load for "bulk disposal", to discourage contractors from dumping their loads there.

A peaceful feeling entered my body, and I never considered it again.