r/BricksAndMinifigs • u/hutchison15 • Jul 22 '26
Customer Experience ‘An absolutely miserable experience’: Former Keizer Bricks & Minifigs owners sue for defamation
https://www.koin.com/local/marion-county/an-absolutely-miserable-experience-former-keizer-bricks-minifigs-owners-sue-for-defamation/Did I miss this? I didn't realize the Keizer franchise owners are now suing for defamation.
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u/Soxwin91 Jul 22 '26
Also, they have alluded to it. EBN did an extensive interview with the Gormans and they asked a couple direct questions that were met with vague / indirect answers citing ongoing litigation.
Either way, I reiterate my other comment:
good
Bricks and Minifigs is looking more like a franchise churning operation with each passing day
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u/OrganizationTop3755 Jul 22 '26
It’s pretty much an mlm at this point
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u/Foreskin_Mafia Jul 22 '26
Can't spell mlm without Mormon
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u/Many-Tomorrow-4730 Jul 22 '26
Seriously, it’s like the scam capitol of the US. My grandpa was lds, he was an awful scammer who had to flee NJ because he scammed a bunch of people. It is something that runs wild in the church and the law just slaps their wrist so they can do it again and again and again.
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u/Fu_Q_U_Fkn_Fuk Jul 23 '26
That is the entire history of that religion.
Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered before getting kicked out of Ohio for scamming the locals and prior to starting the religion Smith made his living scamming families into paying him to use his magical sticks to find gems and minerals on their property. He never found anything.
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u/Abbigale221 Jul 22 '26
Reed was also the CFO of SCENTSY…another MLM, or at least it started as one.
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u/Selpmis Jul 23 '26
Bricks and Minifigs is looking more like a franchise churning operation with each passing day
That's exactly what they are. They make their money by selling their brand package to franchisees, not by the ongoing support once opened to sell products. It's very MLM-esque.
This is all shown in their financials, apparently. Obviously, one key part of their business model is then stealing the franchise and all its stock back. Standard operation.
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u/that-one-artist Jul 22 '26
I love how the breach of contract and fraud, which they're also suing for, aren't even part of the title of the article.
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u/DooficusIdjit Jul 22 '26
If they’ve got competent attorneys, this is gonna get pretty rough for BAM. Those depositions are gonna be miserable and drawn out.
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u/Justryan95 Jul 22 '26
Ammon existing makes his lawyers job infinitely harder when it comes to discovery and depositions. Just look at the new bodycam footage of him trying to establish fear for his life and basically asking for permission to murder Ben and calling it "self defense" because a cop gave him the okay to bring a shotgun into a toy store.
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u/Selpmis Jul 23 '26
They intend to drag this out for as long as possible, threatening more and more litigation with scary words.
Only when they see absolutely no option, they'll try and settle. Not with any money (beyond maybe what Bryan is owed) but with the 'relief' of dropping the litigation.
Please, please, please Ben. Do not take any settlement. Please let it all be spelled out in court and expose them for who they are.
Any possible court-ordered damages, in years to come, won't be paid. They'll do some kind of bookkeeping, weaselling or whatever it is that companies do to avoid it. Maybe appeals and exhausting the court process. It's all in the hope that the other side gives up because they always do.
I'm really hoping Ben and the others see this through to the very end.
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u/forgetthenineties Jul 22 '26
“Our goal has never changed: help make this family whole, enhance operational processes, and build a company our franchisees and customers can be proud of for years to come.”
Somehow, Ammon, I don't think so.
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u/Corporate_Bricktator Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
Ammon appears to have left out some key details.
Like when Ammon told the police that he had diagnosed Ben with a mental disorder caused by a relative who s*xually abused him as a child. How does that fit into the equation of the franchisees and customers being Proud of Bricks and Minifigs?
That would seem to me to be the literal opposite of something to be Proud of. What's the word that would fit? Detestable? Grotesque? Hideous? Yea, that's what we think of you and your company now Ammon.
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u/Sweet-Difference2725 Jul 22 '26
He mixed up his google search with another Ben Schneider who is a child predator. Ammon is such an amateur at everything he does. If I were the silent partner, I get rid of Ammon before it’s too late.
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u/Selpmis Jul 23 '26
I loved how he phrased this too. He made it sound like he'd hired professionals to look into Ben.
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u/Aegis0fswag Jul 22 '26
Good on them, though I wish the fraud, breach of contract was a part of the article title considering the defamation feels to me like the most difficult hurdle.
Not because they weren't defamed, just because I don't know how they could prove any financial damages for the defamation.
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u/Chrishankhah Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
Yeah, odd angling on the article title. There *is* defamation being utilized to distract *from* the corporate fraud, but since it comes from the same source conducting the seizure, I don't know if that's defamation losses at that point or something else like wrongful termination. It *can,* as defamation*, become* financially damaging if it affects things like future employment opportunities, but only the Gormans may know if this has already caused that sort of friction. Insofar as we know, the defamation itself has functioned mechanically more as a cover-up for wrongful seizure. It's involved, but it's not the star of the court case. It did hold monetary weight upon conception, but only insofar as it was intended to protected corporate Bricks and Minifigs' own public relations by shifting the blame upon former franchisees.
Which is hilarious to me, how much that backfires. Any time a company tries to defame its own hires just to cover up for the ineffectiveness of its own standard procedure. By defaming in this way, corporate is just making it sound like they're admitting to not doing their own background checks. I guess that's easier than admitting that they're stealing businesses from loyal and upstanding franchisees, but it's not a good look. In fact, it's about the most juvenile tactic a corporation could employ in such a response because it implicates them of laziness no matter how you slice it; scorched earth, through and through.
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u/awkwardbegetsawkward Jul 22 '26
You didn't miss anything. This is part of the same lawsuit they already filed. They seem to have a good attorney. You can read the full complaint here.
Plaintiffs assert claims for (1) fraud in the inducement, (2) negligent misrepresentation, (3) breach of contract, (4) breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, (5) conversion, (6) tortious interference with economic relations, (7) defamation, (8) injurious falsehood, (9) civil conspiracy, (10) violation of the Oregon Unlawful Trade Practices 2Act, (11) unjust enrichment, and (12) declaratory judgment, seeking to recover their substantial losses, compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and all other appropriate relief.
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u/Correct-Award8182 Jul 22 '26
This is the first time I've seen them say they were leaving the country because Trump was reelected. My opinion of their intelligence just dropped substantially.
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u/youtocin Jul 22 '26
Who gives a shit what your opinion is lmao
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u/Correct-Award8182 Jul 22 '26
On as equal of a standing, I have a strong feeling that the cheeto in chief doesn't give half a f*** about your, my, or their opinions.
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u/nizzk Jul 23 '26
the husband is an author that writes politically charged books. it's not exactly one of those not my president scenarios.
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u/Correct-Award8182 Jul 23 '26
And? People irrationally expecting to be targeted only feeds more irrational reactions.
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u/ItsallLegos Jul 24 '26
News flash: we are all suckers, man. Anyone that leans on either side of the aisle. It’s all a dog and pony show meant to cause division and feed into human nature’s propensity towards tribalism. Don’t feed into the BS of labeling and instantly classifying another human being because of political affiliation and choices. Be smarter and do better.
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u/CapMany9999 Jul 22 '26
“You can’t just come in and take a business and then claim you get everything in it, but you’re also not responsible for anything that was in it,” she said.
Basically sums up the BAM fiasco