After driving their former top franchisee and franchise brochure cover boy into bankruptcy, PIRTEK USA is suing to try to get their previous, private arbitration demand exempted from Jim Lager’s bankruptcy protection.
Is it a lie if someone very cleverly and intentionally creates a false impression in order to mislead? If so, is that perjury? You got me. But I do know this: it ain’t honest. by Sean Kelly
This post is part of an ongoing series. I am not a party to this lawsuit and am solely responsible for my words and opinions. To the Honorable Judge Larson, I’ve posted a Series Disclaimer & Clarification.
After driving their former top franchisee and franchise brochure cover boy into bankruptcy, PIRTEK USA is suing to try to get their previous, private arbitration demand exempted from Jim Lager’s bankruptcy protection.
In February, 2020 Notified Kim Gubera of a Full-page Franchise Promotion Featuring Jim Lager on PIRTEK USA’s Web Page
In the arbitration proceeding that forced PIRTEK USA’s former top franchisee to seek bankruptcy protection, arbitrator David J. Kauffman stated that the settlement agreement between the parties prohibited PIRTEK USA from referencing Lager anywhere on, among other things, its website. Writes Kauffman:
Importantly, Section 5(f) ofthe parties’ September 2, 2020 Settlement Agreement prohibits Pirtek from referencing ” …Lager or any Lager party on any PIRTEK webpage, PIRTEK promotional materials, any PIRTEK social media post (including but not limited to on PIRTEK’s website… or any other online media) or in PIRTEK print media.”
On February 6, 2020, at 11:20 am, I put the search term “Pirtek Headquarters Australia” into Google Image Search.
Although many images of Jim Lager, PIRTEK USA’s unpaid franchisee poster boy, were displayed, one in particular appeared to be a clear violation of the September 2, 2020 agreement.
It was a full-screen promotional webpage featuring an image of Jim Lager with the caption:
Jim Lager, Owner
PIRTEK Love Field &
PIRTEK Meacham
Dallas, Texas
After I publicly posted a screenshot & link, notifying them that their violation had been exposed and documented, PIRTEK USA immediately deleted the webpage.
On February 22, 2022, I emailed Kim Gubera (also Glenn Duncan, Michael Joblove, David Kauffman) the folllowing:
On February, 7 I posted the link to the full page Lager photo on the PirtekUSA.com website, here:
https://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/jim-lager-on-pirtek-website/I assume that PIRTEK found this posting helpful, as the image was removed within 24 hours!
Request for comment from attorney Joblove & arbitrator Kaufmann: Were you aware that Jim Lager’s full-page image was still posted on the PIRTEK USA.com franchise promotional website and could have been removed at any time? Had Mr. Joblove instructed PIRTEK to remove such content? Does Mr. Kaufmann still content PIRTEK was fully compliant?
To help Ms. Gubera, who has expressed her urgency in protecting the PIRTEK brand from being publicly associated with Jim Lager, I thought I would share the URLs of 5 PIRTEK-initiated & controlled press releases posted from the PIRTEK USA admin account on Thomas.net.
I actually signed up for an account to be sure that Users like PIRTEK post and can delete their own content (they can).
In fact, PIRTEK USA posted press releases as recently as last year when they celebrated opening the 100th franchise.
Does Ms. Gubera, Mr. Joblove & Mr. Kaufmann still maintain that this site is a 3rd party site beyond the control of PIRTEK USA? As a franchise sales and marketing professional for 3 decades, I can assure you that the PIRTEK account, profile and press release content is under PIRTEK’s full control.
If Ms. Gubera is truly concerned about PIRTEK’s association with Jim Lager, isn’t it reasonable to assume these press releases will be deleted immediately?
Ms. Gubera, Glenn Duncan, attorney Michael Joblove and arbitrator David Kauffman all received the link to the full-page franchise page that was indexed in Google, was displayed publicly in Google search results, and was obviously not password-protected.
On March 20, 2023, PIRTEK’s attorneys submitted the document DECLARATION OF KIM GUBERA IN SUPPORT OF PIRTEK USA, LLC’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT in support of its motion for summary judgement.
Given Lager’s personal issues… PIRTEK does not wish to be affiliated with Lager in any way and, despite having no obligation to do so, has taken steps to remove any references to Lager from any PIRTEK materials which existed prior to the Second Settlement… [emphasis mine]
Lager’s complaints had been PIRTEK USA’s continued display of his success story, military record and endorsement of PIRTEK USA posted on their website and pages they posted and controlled from the time before the ownership change to present. As far as I know, he had never claimed PIRTEK had posted anything about him after Glenn Duncan took control of the company. Gubera evades the real issue:
Additionally, at no time after the September 2, 2020 settlement has PIRTEK included Lager’s image, or any reference to Lager in any of PIRTEK promotional materials, webpage, website, print media or social media created after the Second Settlement was entered… [emphasis mine]
Then she refers to an article of little relevance that supposedly resided on a password-protected intranet. Huh?
If this isn’t a red herring, it sure smells like one.
29. At some point, PIRTEK discovered that there existed on its intranet, but not its public webpage, an article from Fluid Magazine (an internal PIRTEK newsletter that can only be accessed from PIRTEK’s intranet) from nearly ten years ago in which a few franchisees are described as receiving awards. One of the franchisees was Lager. That article is not available to be viewed by the public and could only be accessed by someone who has a usemame and password to access PIRTEK’s intranet.
This is the kind of tradecraft that earns Michael Joblove and the associates at Venable & Faegre Drinker the big bucks.
Let’s have Kim Gubera shout AT NO TIME DID WE REFERENCE JIM LAGER (in materials created after September 2, 2020).
Then refer to a herring-scented straw man Fluid Magazine article that can be easily refuted as only accessible “by someone who has a username and password.”
Then, a couple of paragraphs later, drop in the names of two former PIRTEK employees who were witnesses on Jim Lager’s behalf.
People might think: Wait a minute… they would have usernames & passwords! Could THEY have screenshotted 10-year-old award pictures?
(Admittedly, I could be giving them too much credit…)
But the truth is that Kim Gubera & company knew that they had a full-page franchise promotion of Jim Lager on their publicly viewable website.
I know because I found it using a basic Google image search. I documented it and notified them.
They must’ve realized that it was clear proof that they had breached the settlement – even David Kauffman would have to admit that.
They scrambled and removed it immediately.
Then they decided to spin a narrative, under penalty of perjury, as if it never existed… and dump it and hundreds of other pages on a busy court, assuming no one will call them out on their deception.
Once again, Kim Gubera, PIRTEK USA and their legal minions are invited to provide corrections, clarifications, rebuttals and their alternative viewpoint.
You’ll find the Court of Public Information & Opinion much less expensive and more expeditious than your preferred system of private arbitration, but you might find that transparency and public debate will result in becoming better people running a better company.
Truth might be a tough pill to swallow, but why not give it a try?
* In my opinion. All of this is my opinion. Everything I say or write is my opinion, except verifiable fact, and therefore non-actionable as defamation. Not that that will stop them
See all PIRTEK USA Posts.
See posts in the PIRTEK USA v. Lager Franchise Perils Series
The words and opinions expressed here are solely the opinions of Sean Kelly, who invites corrections, rebuttals and respectful debate. Sean Kelly is an independent investigative journalist with 35 years of franchise industry experience. Since founding UnhappyFranchisee.Com in 2006, his reporting has exposed & shut down several predatory franchise & investment schemes. Sean Kelly is a franchise watchdog who prompted and aided the FBI investigation that shut down the 165-victim multi-million-dollar NY Bagel franchise scam and landed perpetrators Dennis Mason & Joseph Smith in federal prison. Sean was featured in the ABC Four Corners expose of 7-Eleven wage theft in Australia and has served as an advisor to Dateline NBC. He has withstood bullying, intimidation & frivolous lawsuits as high as $35M and never lost. His crack editorial staff and fact checkers include Chick, Gem, Red, Pru & Joanie the Rescue Chicken.
Contact the author at UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail[dot]com
TAGS: PIRTEK, PIRTEK USA franchise, PIRTEK australia, Kim Gubera, Glenn Duncan, Peter Duncan, Michael Joblove, Venable, Faegre Drinker, David Kauffman, Kauffman Gildin & Robbins, Jim Lager, Sean Kelly, Franchise litigation, franchise arbitration, Franchise NDAs, Franchise gag orders
Could someone explain the joke at the end of my previous post to Worried Bird…
It appears that two owners of small Utah-based franchise companies – Mitch & Manny Cypers of…
Spray Foam Genie is a franchise opportunity offered and maintained by the controversial and embattled…
On the heels of initiating an arbitration complaint against the franchisor (as required by the…
The Franchise Disclosure Document of the Spray Foam Genie franchise states that its parent company, Phoenix Franchise…
The Furry Land mobile pet grooming franchise opportunity promoted & sold by the controversial Phoenix Franchise…