Wilmington businessman in legal battle with Dungeons & Dragons files for bankruptcy
A Wilmington businessman and embattled game publisher with ties to the popular role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons has filed for bankruptcy.
On June 8, 2023, Justin LaNasa, manager of TSR LLC, filed a petition for chapter 7 bankruptcy in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Here’s what we know.
Who is Justin LaNasa?
LaNasa is a tattoo artist who owns several businesses in Wilmington, including Hardwire Tattoo and Body Piercing, Port City Vapor, and downtown attraction Museum of the Bizarre. LaNasa also owns the Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, which is dedicated to preserving the history of Dungeons & Dragons and TSR, Inc., the gaming company that originally produced the legendary role-playing game.
LaNasa has run for several political offices, starting in 2007 when he unsuccessfully challenged Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo. He also launched unsuccessful bids for Wilmington City Council, New Hanover County’s Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors, the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners, the N.C. House of Representatives, and the N.C. Senate.
In 2020, LaNasa established TSR LLC and attempted to produce a reboot of the science-fiction role-playing game, Star Frontiers. The new game, produced by TSR LLC, would be titled Star Frontiers: New Genesis. However, legal challenges have hampered the game’s production and distribution.
About the case: Dungeons & Dragons and Wilmington business owner in high-stakes legal battle
What is the basis for the legal challenges?
Wizards of the Coast, a game company based in Washington State that had previously published Dungeons & Dragons and the original Star Frontiers game, challenged LaNasa’s use of the company’s old logos in his new iteration of Star Frontiers. As a result, LaNasa filed a lawsuit asking that a judge rule on the ownership of the trademarks, and Wizards of the Coast filed a counterclaim accusing LaNasa’s company of falsely representing its origins and “cybersquatting.” They allege the website of the Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum – tsrmuseum.com – misrepresents its ties to the original TSR, Inc.
Then in July 2022, Wizards of the Coast filed an injunction to stop the production of LaNasa's company's game claiming it contained racist and transphobic content which could damage its reputation.
In December 2022, a magistrate judge in the Western District of Washington denied Wizards of the Coast’s request for an injunction, citing that the company didn’t “demonstrate the likelihood of irreparable harm” if the injunction didn’t move forward and noted LaNasa planned to halt production of the new game until the court ruled on the disputed trademarks, which has not yet happened.
What about the bankruptcy filing?
In the voluntary petition for bankruptcy, LaNasa asserts he is the manager and sole member of TSR LLC, which also conducted business as TSR Hobbies. The principal place of business is listed as 208 South Front Street, Unit 3, Wilmington.
The petition lists the following assets for TSR LLC: $0 in personal and real property, and a negative $93.44 bank balance. Other assets are intellectual property, including several trademarks--some of which are included in the pending litigation. While the filing shows monetary value of $0 is assigned to these trademarks, LaNasa believes they may be valuable, particularly to some gaming companies. He noted the ongoing litigation speaks to their value.
"Who would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on something that's not worth anything?" LaNasa said.
According to the petition, the corporation’s liabilities total $384,941.99, which includes money owed to the following unsecured creditors: LaNasa himself for $172,563.99, Hardwire Tattoo LLC for $190,622.06, Immix Law Group PC of Washington for $21,662.50 for attorney fees, and PNC Bank for $93.44 in overdraft fees. It also lists the following creditors as “disputed” with no monetary amount noted in their claims: Wizards of the Coast LLC, Lois Stiene aka Rachel Stiene, and Erik Stiene.
Gross business revenues are listed at $17,864.89 for 2021, $11,383.63 for 2022, and $621.93 from January 1, 2023, to June 8, 2023, the date the petition was filed.
What happens now?
LaNasa, as the representative for TSR LLC, has been ordered to appear in a video hearing on July 24 as the debtor’s representative. Creditors may attend but are not required to do so. If the petition is granted, a court-appointed trustee would take over the assets of TSR LLC and distribute them to creditors. However, the petition states after administrative expenses are paid, no funds will be available to unsecured creditors.
The trademark dispute was set to go to trial later in October, but LaNasa said he recently learned it would be extended several months, which prompted him to file for bankruptcy on behalf of TSR LLC.
"If it had gone to trial in October, there wouldn't have been a bankruptcy case," LaNasa said, adding he couldn't continue paying the legal expenses associated with the case.
Despite the liquidation of TSR LLC's assets, LaNasa is not getting out of the role-playing game business. He said he's already started re-branding as OSR Games.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington businessman tied to Dungeons & Dragons files for bankruptcy
