More details emerge in 'Storage Wars' lawsuit

New information has been released in the David Hester lawsuit against A&E Television Networks over the legitimacy of Storage Wars, the A&E hit series. Hester claims that the series is rigged, saying that producers were guilty of salting storage lockers before they were auctioned off to buyers. I was not familiar with that phrase, but found out that it means the locker had valuable items placed in it before it was auctioned to raise its value and create intrigue.

Hester appeared on the series, where he was best known for his delivery of the word "yep." He is salty over his dismissal from the series and that is apparently led to his coming forward with these allegations.

Hester's attorneys are arguing that the show is not protected by the First Amendment and should instead by governed by 47 U.S.C. § 509, which emerged following the quiz show scandal in the 1950s. That section says that producers are not allowed to participate in "influencing, prearranging, or predetermining outcomes" in "contests of knowledge, skill, or chance."

A&E violating this law has apparently harmed Hester, according to his lawsuit. He says that he complained about the salting of the lockers and producers stopped doing it for the lockers he acquired, but kept doing it for the other cast members. This "interference and manipulation of the outcomes of the auctions shown" made it look like he had less ability to find hidden treasures than his colleagues.

A&E says Hester is just angry he got tossed off the series. Without all the details, it seems like their argument makes sense. If this really bothered Hester, why did he not leave the series? Why did he keep participating for two more seasons after he initially found out about the alleged salting?