A controversy surrounding a disputed LEGO Star Wars collection has prompted Bricks & Minifigs to take steps toward resolution. Ammon McNeff, CEO of the LEGO reseller, has confirmed that the company is prepared to meet with Bryan Mansell and his father. The two men have accused Bricks & Minifigs of effectively taking a LEGO collection they valued at $200,000 through a consignment deal that fell apart.
McNeff indicated the company is willing to return Mansell’s collection, plus any LEGO Star Wars set in the store regardless of ownership. The company will also drop its lawsuit against Mansell, who is named as a co-defendant in a defamation and harassment suit targeting YouTuber Reckless Ben, a creator known for documenting franchise disputes. More details on that conflict appear below.
“[…] Bryan, we continue our offer to sit down with you and are prepared to discuss dropping the lawsuit against you,” said McNeff. “Let’s go through the spreadsheets and POS data together and ensure you are made whole monetarily and ensure that whatever Star Wars LEGO was or remains in the Salem store, whether you identify as yours or not, you can have it. We will ensure you are compensated for anything unaccounted for, including what Ms. Law/Gorman failed to compensate you for without your knowledge. We’re ready when you are.”
A Bricks & Minifigs location is pictured below.
The Salem, Oregon store where the dispute unfolded will close permanently. Bricks & Minifigs will also end its relationship with franchise owners Brandon Best and Joshua Johnson, citing what it called “a devastating social media campaign.” The two men appeared prominently in multiple YouTube videos from creator Reckless Ben, who has built a following by exposing issues within the LEGO reseller community.
Bricks & Minifigs claimed that Chrystal Gorman, the previous store owner, arranged an unauthorized consignment. Gorman has pushed back against that claim by showing consignments were permitted under her franchisee contract. The company also accused Gorman of “gross negligence” and said her management of the store created the conflict.
“Due to our commitment to a heightened level of due diligence in our investigation, and lack of formal documentation produced by Mr. Mansell and the former franchisee, Ms. Law/Gorman, we have found critical data including three separate Star Wars Lot spreadsheets,” said Matt McNeff, COO, Bricks & Minifigs. “These included an unknown, but accessible email account maintained by Ms. Law/Gorman. This evidence confirmed the new incoming franchisees who took over the location were not aware of, nor prepared for the responsibilities of taking over a store from a forensic accounting review standpoint.
A Bricks & Minifigs location is shown below.
“This led to due diligence issues in coming to resolution with Mr. Mansell. First, an ex-franchisee still had connections to, and in one instance, ownership of company-marked data through a personal email account. When a collector came in, identified himself, and what he believed to be a ‘formal’ albeit undisclosed relationship with a former franchisee, it is unfortunate that Ms. Law Gorman was not upfront about it. We are disappointed this situation was not made explicitly clear, that should have happened much sooner than today. That’s not acceptable, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise.”
For those catching up, this saga began last month when YouTuber Reckless Ben began documenting a strange situation at the popular LEGO reseller. Bryan Mansell had tried to sell his elderly father’s extensive LEGO Star Wars collection. Mansell said the collection was worth about $200,000 and set up a consignment deal with a Bricks & Minifigs franchise in Oregon. The arrangement let the store sell the sets and take a share of the revenue.
Somewhere along the way, the deal collapsed. Chrystal Gorman, then the owner, said she was forced out to make room for new owners. Those new owners, she claimed, refused to honor the consignment agreement but kept the LEGO. Brandon Best and Joshua Johnson, the new owners, allegedly would not work with Mansell to return his collection or pay him. Mansell then reached out to Ben for assistance.
The situation spiraled dramatically. Local police allegedly did not help Ben or Mansell, including when they tried to serve legal papers to Best and Johnson. Ben also claimed that Best and Johnson turned police against him after officers pulled him over. They said they received a call that Ben had heroin. A search found no drugs.
Ben was later arrested on stalking charges but released on bail. Soon after, another warrant was issued for his arrest. Ben allegedly fled to Mexico, where he has been living on Patreon earnings. Bricks & Minifigs sent a legal notice to Patreon demanding Ben’s account be closed. Patreon CEO Jack Conte released a video denying the request, told the LEGO reseller to “stuff it,” and dared the company to sue Patreon if it wanted.
The whole affair has become one of the more bizarre online disputes in recent memory. It is still unclear whether Mansell will accept Bricks & Minifigs’ offer to settle the matter, or if additional drama will follow. The case has drawn attention to how consignment deals can sour and how quickly franchise disputes can escalate into public feuds, particularly when social media gets involved.
The LEGO Star Wars collecting community has watched closely as events have unfolded. LEGO Star Wars designer showcases the various Ideas sets he helped create have long drawn passionate fans, and the high value of rare sets makes disputes like this one especially contentious. Whether Mansell ultimately recovers his full collection, or whether the legal battles between Bricks & Minifigs and its various critics continue, remains to be seen.
For more on the Star Wars franchise, you can read about how Inside the Star Wars Universe, Damon Lindelof’s Canceled ‘New Jedi Order’ Movie Would Have Done the Protestant and explore what Star Wars Zero Company, an XCOM-Style Tactics Game, Has Its Launch Date Surface Early means for the future of the franchise.
