Artist’s Suit Draws Different Picture of Firm

Artist Paul Frank, whose doodling launched a multimillion-dollar clothing and accessories empire, is reaching for the eraser.

The designer filed a lawsuit this week against Costa Mesa-based Paul Frank Industries to shut it down. He alleged that company President Ryan Heuser and Chief Executive John Oswald fired him in November “without cause� and that the executives were paying themselves excessive salaries.

Frank created the Julius monkey design, which has been emblazoned on purses, wallets and pajamas and was popular with young girls.

Frank maintains that the firm rakes in more than $40 million in sales annually on the strength of his designs, which, in addition to the monkey, include Ellie the elephant and Clancy the giraffe. Heuser and Oswald now intend to run the company solely for their benefit, and are using corporate property -- including cars and charter jet rentals -- for themselves and their friends, the suit alleges.

To protect Frank’s interests, the company should be liquidated, the suit says.

The company declined to comment.

In a separate copyright suit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, Frank alleges that the company has continued to use the monkey design without his permission.

“I love being able to create,� said the artist, whose full name is Paul Frank Sunich, in a statement. “I was promised by the partners I brought in that they would make my creations even more profitable. What they didn’t tell me was that they would snatch those profits for themselves.�

The lawsuits paint a different picture of his departure from Paul Frank Industries from an earlier account. In November, the company said the designer left “to pursue other interests� and that Oswald and Heuser would continue to run the business while Frank remained “a significant stakeholder.�

After he was dismissed, Frank was denied a salary or any share of profit, although he owns nearly one-third of the business, the suit said. Oswald and Heuser also demanded that he sell his stake back to the company for a fraction of its value, the suit said.

The clothing firm also insisted that Frank not create characters for anyone else, said his attorney, Howard King. “They decided they didn’t need him anymore and kicked him to the curb,� King said.

Frank launched the business from his home in 1995 by sewing monkey patches on wallets and selling them at a newsstand where he worked. That year Heuser joined the firm, and Oswald came two years later, according to court records. Frank contributed designs, while Heuser handled marketing and Oswald offered business expertise. At the time, each owned one-third of the company.

Paul Frank Industries expanded and operates 14 stores, including locations in Los Angeles and Costa Mesa, as well as in London, Amsterdam, Tokyo and Seoul. Its products have grown beyond items bearing animal likenesses to include bomber jackets, pajamas and backpacks.

But Ilse Metchek, executive director of the California Fashion Assn., said the buzz in the industry was that retailers had grown tired of Julius.

“He created the monkey,� she said, “but what’s next?�