A&E wins first Storage Wars battle

A&E has won the first round of a legal tussle with former Storage Wars star Dave Hester who has claimed elements of the show are staged.

Hester has taken action against A&E over the termination of his contract on the long running show, produced by Thom Beers’ Original Productions.

He also alleges “A&E has committed a fraud on the public”, contravening the 1934 Communications Act by ‘salting’ storage lockers with valuable items that the stars of the show were supposed to bid blind on without knowing if the content was valuable or not.

By doing so A&E made Hester appear less skilful than his competitors, relying on the broadcaster for valuable items, he claimed.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Superior Court threw out that unfair business practices part of the complaint. It also ruled that the show is protected by the first amendment as it is a form of free speech and therefore no injunction can be placed against it for the alleged salting.

However, Hester’s claim for wrongful termination of his contract is ongoing.

A&E has has previously accused Hester of attempting to turn a run-of-the-mill breach of contract complaint into a “tabloid-worthy drama” with the aim of maximising any financial return a court may decide he is owed.

Beers vehemently denies Hester’s claims that the producers are ‘salting’ the lock ups, and has described his action as a “nuisance suit”.