GOSHEN — Orange County Supreme Court Justice Lewis Lubell issued an order on April 21, saying Paul Teutul Sr. has validly exercised his right to buy his son out of the Orange County Choppers.

The celebrity father-son duo also recently announced they'll be going head-to-head on a new season of "American Chopper," in which each will operate his own bike shop.

Since December, Lubell has been considering a suit filed by Senior asking the courts to appoint an appraiser to value Junior's portion of the company, so that he can purchase it. Senior fired Paulie in January 2009 and the two hashed out an agreement, including an option for Senior to buy his son out.

In November, Senior says, he exercised his right to buy Paulie's 20 percent of the company. Senior's suit claims Junior was obstructing attempts to purchase the shares.

But Junior's counterclaim says he wasn't given access to company records, which he demanded along with $10 million in damages and other restitution.

The judge granted Senior's request, saying that he validly exercised his right to buy the shares in November. But Lubell refused to appoint an appraiser to value the company, instead ordering a conference at which the parties will negotiate over a third-party appraiser.

The judge also barred either party from selling assets of Orange County Choppers until the suit is resolved. The Teutuls' next conference is slated for May 27.

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Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. haven't spoken in over a year, but their ongoing rift isn't stopping them from appearing in a new show that pits the warring generations against each other.

"American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior" starts taping in a week, and is scheduled to debut on The Learning Channel in August. Under the new premise-- the details of which have yet to be ironed out-- the original Orange County Choppers (run by Paul Sr.) competes against the offspring's Paul Jr. Designs business.

In what proportion will each business be featured, and how will the onscreen drama be treated? Executive producer Christo Doyle doesn't share his secrets, but he does tell the NY Post that "This is a very bitter situation that runs really deep -- at times I feel I'm a family therapist and not a producer."

As for the Teutuls, Junior says "I'm always hopeful for a reconciliation, but sometimes these things happen for a reason." In contrast, Senior claims that Junior has never approached him to reconcile, adding that, "I'm happy he's making an attempt to go out on his own, but I don't feel he's ever really followed through with anything in his life."

Ahh, family...

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# posted by TimKreitz @ 4:46 PM