Friendship Down Drain : Neighbors’ Plunge in Commode-ities Market Ends in Court

For years, neighbors in the quiet, gated Newport Trails community shared a homely device made of garden hose, plastic piping and cork. They used it to unclog their sinks and toilets.

All was flowing smoothly until one of the neighbors had the brainstorm of marketing the gizmo. One man called it the “Hydro-Plunger.” A woman called it the “Turbo-Plunger.”

Their joint effort led to bickering, then ugly allegations of deception and greed and finally, this week, one neighbor filed a lawsuit against another, alleging the theft of “trade secrets.”

The once-peaceful neighborhood, where families held regular barbecues and weekly happy hours, is divided over who owns legal rights to the “communal” plunger.

“The feeling of community has been lost,” said Larry Gaugenmaier, an unemployed RV accessory supplier who is the defendant in the case.

On Wednesday, Gaugenmaier stood in his garage where collages of past neighborhood parties cover the walls. He pointed to a picture of neighbor Lisa Leighton sitting in front of his house. “We used to be close friends,” he said.

Leighton filed a civil lawsuit against Gaugenmaier earlier this week, accusing him of unfair business practices, breach of contract and stealing trade secrets.

At the heart of the issue is a T-shaped, homemade plunger that neighbors said was used in the community for years.

Many Newport Trails residents preferred the plunger, which uses water pressure to clear clogged pipes, to standard plungers sold in hardware stores. The device rotated from house to house, depending on who had a problem.

In June, 1992, Leighton and Gaugenmaier were chatting at a barbecue when Gaugenmaier suggested that the neighborhood plunger might be a bigger seller. They decided to work together to manufacture and sell an improved version for a profit.

In her lawsuit, Leighton said she hired an engineer who modified the plunger’s design so it worked more efficiently. Leighton, who has since moved to Laguna Beach, hired a patent attorney and paid various start-up and legal costs, while Gaugenmaier worked on design and distribution plans, according to the lawsuit.

The two flew to a national hardware show in Chicago in August to look for suppliers and to test the market. Gaugenmaier said that representatives from stores such as Walmart and Home Depot expressed interest.

But then the deal backed up.

Gaugenmaier said he decided to develop and sell a simpler version of the plunger, which he said he designed on his own before teaming up with Leighton. He dubbed it the Hydro-Plunger.

He said he grew tired of waiting for Leighton, who in his opinion was moving too slowly in getting the product on the market. “It had been 18 months since we first started talking, and we hadn’t produced one plunger yet,” he said.

Gaugenmaier said Leighton was interested in making a more complex plunger with a special push button that would take more time to manufacture. She called her version the Turbo-Plunger.

Leighton declined to comment Wednesday.

Her attorney, Dirk O. Julander, said Gaugenmaier “is engaged in unfair competition and is using the design of the plunger without the burden of paying for it.”

The attorney said Leighton and her company, Klamath Corp., have invested thousands of dollars to improve the plunger’s design, test the potential market and cover other start-up costs. He estimated that by the time the plunger hits the market Leighton will have spent $120,000.

Gaugenmaier said he has spent nearly $60,000 of his savings in making his Hydro-Plunger, which he wants to sell to mom-and-pop hardware stores for $24.95.

He said he did nothing wrong.

“It was my idea from the start,” he said.

On Gaugenmaier’s dining room table sits a stack of letters from lawyers and a copy of his neighbor’s lawsuit. “This thing has gotten blown out of proportion,” he said.

Several neighbors in the terra-cotta-roofed housing development declined to talk about the dispute. But Victor Armand, 57, who lives across the street from Gaugenmaier, said he believed the plunger was overrated.

“I used it for my second-floor bathroom,” Armand said. “It didn’t work as well as I thought it would.”