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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallNo. Dave Hester’s lawsuit alleged that Storage Wars producers planted valuable items and staged storage units, but the allegations were not a court finding. Reported comments from executive producer Thom Beers point to some production shaping—such as occasionally moving an item between lockers and writing lines—without proving Hester’s broader claims. The court made a partial ruling, and the parties later settled on undisclosed terms; neither outcome resolved whether the show was fake.
What Hester alleged in his lawsuit
Storage Wars premiered in 2010 and followed bidders competing for abandoned storage lockers at public auctions, according to contemporaneous reporting by the Los Angeles Times and ABC News.
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In December 2012, Hester sued A&E Television Networks and production company Original Productions in Los Angeles Superior Court. He alleged wrongful termination, breach of contract, and unfair business practices. His complaint claimed producers regularly planted valuable items or memorabilia, sometimes staged entire units, and fired him after he objected. Those were Hester’s allegations, not established facts. (ABC News; Los Angeles Times)
How A&E responded
A&E disputed Hester’s account. ABC News quoted the network’s statement: “There is no staging involved. The items uncovered in the storage units are the actual items featured on the show.” In a later legal response, A&E argued Hester was let go over trademark and contract issues and accused him of participating in “salting” units. These, too, are claims by a party to the dispute, not independent findings. (ABC News; TheWrap)
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What the producer’s reported comments establish
Reality Blurred reported that executive producer Thom Beers spoke at a June 2012 panel about some production intervention. Beers said an item might occasionally be moved from one locker to another, and acknowledged that some lines were written for cast members. The comments are evidence of those limited practices as reported by Reality Blurred; they do not establish that valuable objects were routinely planted, that entire lockers were staged, or that auction outcomes were predetermined.
“Nope. I can honestly tell you that the stuff found in those containers are found in storage containers. Now what I will tell you this: We have 20, 30 auctions, and so occasionally maybe one piece shows for one auction container, storage locker to another, you know, but that’s as far as we’ll go. That’s, I think, important.”
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Reality Blurred attributed those words to Beers. Its report also quoted him saying, “I have to admit: There’s some writing involved. We do it in Storage Wars, we do in America’s Lost Treasures. … I’m so tired of narration driving story.” These are quotations in a secondary report of the panel, not a transcript provided by the event organizer. The “20, 30” phrase is part of Beers’s reported wording, not a measured count or frequency. (Reality Blurred)
What the court decided—and what it did not
In March 2013, Judge Michael Johnson dismissed Hester’s unfair-business-practices claim on First Amendment grounds and rejected an injunction against the series, according to TheWrap. TheWrap reported that breach-of-contract and implied-covenant claims remained to be explored. This was a partial legal ruling; it did not decide whether the show was staged. A judge’s rejection of an argument in that ruling should not be mistaken for a finding that either side’s account of production was true.
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Why the settlement does not settle the factual question
A July 2014 RadarOnline report said the parties settled for an undisclosed amount, with terms under seal, and cited a court document stating, “Judgment is satisfied in full.” The reported settlement does not disclose a factual resolution of the staging dispute. It therefore cannot be treated as an admission by A&E or as proof that Hester’s allegations were false.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What “fake” can mean in this dispute
The word can describe different things, and the evidence does not support treating them as interchangeable:
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- Written or shaped dialogue: Beers was reported to have acknowledged writing some cast lines.
- Moving an item between lockers: Beers was reported to have described this as an occasional production practice.
- Planting valuable items or staging entire units: Hester alleged these practices; A&E denied staging. The cited partial ruling and settlement did not decide the dispute.
- Predetermining auction outcomes: The cited reporting and legal outcomes do not establish that auctions or winners were predetermined.
The most supportable conclusion is narrower than the headline’s claim: reported remarks indicate some production shaping, while Hester’s broader allegations that producers regularly planted valuables or staged whole units remain allegations in the cited record.
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