American Chopper star Paul Teutul Sr. is facing a new lawsuit for allegedly ignoring his debts to another auto shop.
Teutul Sr. is already suffering from financial hardships, as he has filed and bankruptcy and may soon lose his upstate New York mansion. In new court documents obtained by The Blast, he is also facing a $30,000 lawsuit from JTM Motorsports. The company claims that Teutul Sr. breached a settlement deal that they reached together in January.
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According to JTM, Teutul Sr. was supposed to release $30,000 from an escrow account by a mutually agreed upon deadline so that he could pay them. The company claims that Teutul Sr. missed the deadline, and has ignored JTM’s attempts to resolve the issue with him.
In response, JTM wants the court to find Teutul Sr. in civil contempt. They also want the court to force him to release the $30,000, along with another $13,000 to cover JTM’s attorney fees and punitive damages.
The debts reportedly go back to last summer, when JTM worked on a 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 for Teutul Sr. At the time, the motorsports shop did some modifications on the car for Teutul Sr., hoping to get air time on one of his TV shows in exchange.
Teutul Sr. reportedly promised to get JTM some exposure on Street Outlaws and American Chopper, both on Discovery. American Chopper was officially picked up for a reboot last year and will return to Discovery in May. Apparently, the deal never came through, but neither party wanted to admit to wrongdoing in the case.
JTM claims that it lost a huge sum on the deal, including $24,000 in parts, $26,000 in labor and $10,000 in storage fees. The company wanted to auction off Teutul Sr.’s car and keep the profits to recoup their losses.
Teutul Sr. filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in the state of New York last year. The reality TV star claims that he has $1,801,729 in assets and $1,070,893.44 in liabilities. Teutul Sr. has had a very difficult time liquidating his property. His mansion in upstate New York has not sold in spite of repeated price slashes.
The 38-acre property went on sale for $2.89 million back in October of 2017. Now, over a year later it is listed for $1.65 million — 42-percent lower than the original asking price. Experts speculate that the home is too lavish for the neighborhood it is in, making even wealthy buyers shy away from it. In addition, it would come with an enormous property tax.
Hopefully, his return to TV will help Teutul Sr. get his finances in order. American Chopper returns to Discovery with new episodes in May.
