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VINDY EXCLUSIVE | Suit filed against former owner of SuperNats
YOUNGSTOWN
A civil suit against the former owner of the Steel Valley Super Nationals hot-rod show at the Canfield Fairgrounds claims he didn’t have proper rights to that name when he sold the business for $120,000.
According to a civil complaint filed Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court by current show owner Lee Hartman of Vienna, former “Super Nats” owner Corey Ward of Canfield claimed he owned the names, trademarks and copyrights for the show’s various names and its websites and social media sites when he sold the business to Hartman in 2017.
But Hartman later learned the names were legally owned by the National Hot Rod Association, causing Hartman to “expend substantial legal fees” on an agreement with the NHRA to continue using the name.
The suit claims several related show vendors or sponsors split with the show after Hartman took over, as he didn’t legally own the name, including Chili’s Restaurant, which hosted the show’s annual after party near Southern Park Mall.
The suit also claims Ward broke a 10-year no-compete clause in the purchase agreement that barred Ward from hosting car shows within 500 miles of the Canfield Fairgrounds. Ward promoted and conducted an event at a local rib festival in 2018 and an event called the “Motorama” in Girard just this past January, according to the complaint. That clause also included a $70,000 entitlement for Hartman if Ward broke it, according to the complaint.
“It’s very clear [Ward] breached his contract with Mr. Hartman, and Mr. Hartman has suffered damages due to his breach of that contract and also due to false representations he made,” Hartman’s attorney, Stephen Pruneski of Akron, said Wednesday.
“We’re very confident when the merits are heard by the court we’re going to prevail.”
The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages totaling more than $460,000 and a permanent injunction to keep Ward from participating or having an interest in area car shows.
Pruneski said Hartman hired patent attorneys who determined the NHRA did own the rights to the “Super Nationals” name.
Ward, reached by phone Wednesday, said he was unaware of the lawsuit and deferred comment to his attorney, Justin Markota of Youngstown.
Markota said Wednesday afternoon he had not spoken with Ward about the suit and did not immediately comment.
“It’s unfortunate when people make agreements with one another and purposefully don’t follow up,” Pruneski said. “We’ll look forward to getting all our evidence in front of a judge and jury when the time’s appropriate.”