Crawling by it in Sunset Junction traffic, past a scruffy row of mod clothing boutiques, Circus of Books and a gelato parlor, you'd hardly know the black garage on the corner is at the heart of a mushrooming environmental movement.
Lovecraft Biofuels is a counterculture Jiffy Lube, where urban pioneers bring aging Mercedes diesels for a conversion to run on vegetable oil. Essentially cornering the Southern California market on veggie oil fuel transformations, Lovecraft's business exploded since its inception about three years ago, attracting customers including actress Mandy Moore and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
But now a bitter legal battle between the business' current and former owners has divided customer loyalty and left things at Lovecraft murkier than a barrel of old fry grease.
With back-and-forth lawsuits and allegations of drug use, bribery and fraud, the tiff has morphed into what one not-very-satisfied customer called a "huge hipster soap opera."
The tiny garage, where black-clad mechanics in sunglasses tinker on Mercedes-Benzes next to a ramshackle office with plywood floors, still has a homespun feel. But under new management, Lovecraft has grappled with adolescent growing pains in the evolution from a backyard experiment to a sophisticated, media-savvy enterprise.
Entrepreneur Tacee Webb took over the veggie oil conversion business from founder Brian Friedman last year, agreeing to keep the former tattoo, piercing and comics shop owner on as a consultant. But somewhere along the way, the arrangement apparently soured.
Allegations
Webb filed a complaint against Friedman, alleging that he continued to do business under the Lovecraft name in breach of non-competition provisions of the contract. She also alleged that Friedman harassed and threatened Lovecraft employees, sabotaged operations and misrepresented the company's earnings and debt.
Webb's complaint alleged that Friedman swiped the database of 7,000 customers, hacked into the company's computer system, changed the business phone number, sold cars without a license and accepted payment from people for cars he never delivered, damaging the Lovecraft name.
"Friedman's wrongful conduct is causing, and will continue to cause, great and irreparable injury to Lovecraft's business, name, goodwill and reputation," the complaint read.
