BAM Franchising, the company behind Bricks & Minifigs, is telling the public it wants a friendly resolution with Bryan Mansell’s family while its court case still accuses Mansell of taking part in a RICO conspiracy against the company.
The dispute began with Mansell’s effort to sell his father’s large collection of unopened Star Wars Lego sets through a Bricks & Minifigs franchise in Salem, Oregon, according to Techdirt’s account of the litigation and related reporting. That store was run by Chrystal Law-Gorman and Ben Gorman. The Gormans later tried to leave the franchise system, and people connected to BAM Franchising took control of the store.
Video described by Techdirt shows Ben Gorman telling Brandon Best, one of the people taking over the store, that consigned sets were still inside and needed to be accounted for. Best was told the consignment issue came with the store, according to that account. Law-Gorman then alerted Mansell, who tried to use a contract clause to recover the remaining sets or money owed. The new operators refused, Techdirt reported.
The numbers then became the accelerant. The new franchise owners said the remaining Star Wars Lego inventory was worth about $2,000 to $5,000. YouTuber Ben Schneider, known as Reckless Ben, later amplified Mansell’s claim into a much larger public campaign around a $200,000 figure. Coffeezilla, another YouTuber who reviewed information from several sides, concluded that the $200,000 claim was not supported, that many sets had probably already been sold, and that Law-Gorman likely owed Mansell some money.
Coffeezilla also reported that BAM principals Ammon and Lacey McNeff, along with Josh Johnson and Brandon Best, gave accounts that appeared incomplete or inaccurate. His video said BAM likely had more than the $2,000 to $5,000 in sets it had claimed, but far less than $200,000.
The legal posture is doing the talking
BAM’s public statement says the company is “determined to find an amicable resolution with the Mansell family.” It also says BAM has offered to make the family whole for items or money “fairly demonstrated to be unaccounted for” and says it will return every Star Wars Lego item remaining from the Salem store.
That language sits awkwardly next to the litigation. Techdirt reported that BAM sued both Schneider and Mansell, accusing Mansell of participating in a racketeering conspiracy. BAM’s statement also continues to blame the Gormans for not paying Mansell and repeats the lower $2,000 to $5,000 inventory estimate.
The “remaining from the Salem store” wording matters because Coffeezilla’s reporting discussed claims that Best removed Lego sets with a U-Haul around the time of the takeover. The McNeffs dispute that account and say Best moved inventory from another store about a month earlier, according to Techdirt.
There has been movement in court, but less than some headlines suggested. KSL reported that a truce had been reached between BAM and Schneider. Legal Eagle’s Devin Stone characterized the development more narrowly: Schneider and Mansell hired lawyers, those lawyers reached a stipulation with BAM’s lawyers to narrow a temporary restraining order, and the sides agreed to mediation.
Utah Judge Tony Graf Jr. did not immediately sign the revised injunction, according to Techdirt, and asked for more clarification after spotting remaining constitutional problems. The original temporary restraining order, which Techdirt described as broad enough to raise First Amendment concerns, therefore remained in effect.
Schneider’s lawyers have since removed BAM’s case to federal court on diversity grounds. The federal docket includes a 663-page exhibit collecting the local Utah court filings, Techdirt reported. BAM may try to send the case back to state court, but for now the company’s public promise to settle and its racketeering lawsuit are traveling in the same file folder. That is one way to run crisis communications, if the goal is to make lawyers bill in stereo.
This story draws on original reporting from Techdirt.
