Dave Hester Lawsuit: Storage Wars Firing, Anti-SLAPP, and Settlement

Dave Hester’s lawsuit against A&E was a wrongful termination case filed in December 2012, in which the Storage Wars star alleged the network fired him after he complained that producers were staging the show by planting valuable items in storage lockers. After a year and a half of contested rulings that split roughly down the middle, A&E and Hester settled in July 2014 for an undisclosed amount, and Hester returned to the series for Season 5.¹

What Hester Alleged

Hester filed his complaint on December 11, 2012, in Los Angeles Superior Court against A&E Television Networks and Original Productions. He brought claims for wrongful termination, breach of contract, fraud, and unfair business practices, and sought more than $750,000 in general damages plus punitive damages.²

The core allegation was that “nearly every aspect of the series is faked.” According to the complaint, producers routinely planted valuable items in storage lockers before auctions, sometimes staging entire units with the cooperation of facility owners.³ Hester named specific items he said were planted: a BMW mini car, an old newspaper announcing Elvis Presley’s death, and antiques sourced from a dealer called Off the Wall Antiques. He also alleged producers gave cash to weaker cast members so they could afford to bid, and that the network paid for plastic surgery for a female cast member to enhance her on-screen appeal.⁴

Hester said that after he complained about the planting, producers stopped salting lockers he bought but kept doing it for other cast members. He argued that this made him look less skilled by comparison, damaged his auction business, and ultimately forced him to close his storefronts.⁵

His attorneys anchored the legal theory in 47 U.S.C. § 509, the federal statute that came out of the 1950s quiz show scandals and prohibits rigging contests of knowledge, skill, or chance. They pointed to A&E’s own promotional materials, which described Storage Wars as a “contest.”⁵

A&E’s Response

A&E called the lawsuit “meritless” and framed Hester as a disgruntled former employee upset over failed contract negotiations, not a whistleblower.⁶ A network spokesperson said: “There is no staging involved. The items uncovered in the storage units are the actual items featured on the show.”⁷

In court, A&E argued that Storage Wars was an “expressive work entitled to full First Amendment protection” and that the auctions shown were not “contests of chance, intellectual knowledge or intellectual skill” within the meaning of § 509.⁵

How the Rulings Split

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson handled the case, and his rulings gave each side something.

A&E Won on Anti-SLAPP

In January 2013, A&E moved to strike the lawsuit under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which lets courts quickly dispose of suits that target protected speech. On March 12, 2013, Judge Johnson granted the motion in part and threw out Hester’s unfair business practices claim, agreeing that the show was protected expression and that ordering changes to its production would amount to telling A&E what it could broadcast.⁶ The judge also found Hester had not cited any “particular policy” within the Communications Act supporting his position.⁸

Because A&E prevailed on the anti-SLAPP motion, Judge Johnson ordered Hester to pay $122,692 in defense legal fees: $96,735 to A&E and $25,957 to Original Productions.⁹

The Wrongful Termination Claim Survived

The employment claim was another matter. In September 2013, Judge Johnson issued a tentative ruling denying A&E’s motion to dismiss the wrongful termination cause of action, drawing a line between speech and employment: “Plaintiff is suing to recover money, and not to inject himself into the program.”²

Importantly, the judge held that Hester did not have to prove A&E actually broke the law. He only had to show he was fired for reporting “reasonably based suspicions” of illegality. Whether those suspicions were reasonable and made in good faith were “factual questions that cannot be decided on demurrer.”¹⁰ The judge also let Hester’s punitive damages request stand.¹¹

The Settlement and Hester’s Return

With the termination claim heading toward trial, the parties settled in July 2014. The amount was not disclosed.¹ Hester’s original demand had been $750,000 in general damages plus punitive damages.²

As part of the resolution, Hester came back to Storage Wars for Season 5 and continued through Season 12. He had been off the show only for Season 4, which was filmed during the litigation.⁷

A Separate Lawsuit Against Public Storage

Hester’s dispute with A&E is sometimes confused with a later, unrelated case. In July 2017, he bought the contents of a Public Storage unit in Fountain Valley, California, for $11,800 at a lien sale. Roughly 30 minutes later, a senior manager discovered that the occupant had actually paid off the balance weeks earlier and the unit had gone to auction because of a computer error. Public Storage voided the sale under “null and void” clauses in its auction participation agreement.¹²

Hester sued for breach of contract and conversion and lost in the Superior Court of Orange County. On May 28, 2020, the California Court of Appeal (Fourth District, Division 3) affirmed, holding that the rescission clauses were not facially invalid, were not preempted by the Uniform Commercial Code or the Self-Service Storage Facility Act, and were not the product of economic duress. Because Public Storage rescinded in a timely manner, Hester never established ownership of the goods.¹²

1
Yahoo Entertainment. Storage Wars Lawsuit
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Deadline. Fired Storage Wars Star Scores a Win Over A&E in Lawsuit
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ABC News. Storage Wars Star Files Lawsuit Claiming Show Is Fake
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Inside Self-Storage. Storage Wars Star David Hester Claims Sales Are Rigged, Sues Show After Being Fired
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The Hollywood Reporter. Storage Wars Rigging Lawsuit
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Deadline. Storage Wars Lawsuit: A&E Wins First Amendment Victory
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TV Insider. Why Did Dave Hester Leave Storage Wars
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The Wrap. Storage Wars Lawsuit: A&E Wins Partial Victory
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The Hollywood Reporter. David Hester Ordered to Pay A&E Legal Fees
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The Hollywood Reporter. Fired Storage Wars Star Wins Ruling Against A&E
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Inside Self-Storage. Termination Lawsuit by Former Storage Wars Star Hester Heads Toward Trial
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FindLaw. Hester v. Public Storage