Auction Owner Sues O.C. Over Surplus Property Deal

The owner of two local auction companies has filed a lawsuit against Orange County seeking nearly $10 million in damages.

Norman Haigh, who owns Auctions Plus in Garden Grove and Auction Services in El Toro, claims the county breached written agreements it had with him as a contractor to liquidate government surplus property and automobiles.

According to papers filed Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court, Haigh contends he had a written agreement to be the county’s “exclusive auctioneer to sell at auction all of the County’s personal property” from Sept. 5, 1995, to Sept. 4, 1998. He says he also had a contract to sell the county’s vehicles from April 1, 1997, to March 31, 1998.

Haigh’s suit claims that the county illegally terminated the contract in July of last year and hired another company, General Auction Co., to be its exclusive auctioneer.

The county refused comment on the suit. Said spokeswoman Diane Thomas: “We have apparently not been served; therefore, we couldn’t possibly respond.”

Haigh, whose suit says he is a contractor for the cities of Santa Ana and Westminster and their police departments, is seeking actual damages totaling $9,849,075 for loss of revenue and incurred costs. He could not be reached for comment.