Dragon Con Owner Faces Lawsuit From Founder

Dragon Con Owner Faces Lawsuit From Founder
UPDATED: Convention owner speaks out against lawsuit

The convention draws more than 30,000 people each year, making it the largest genre attraction in the Southeast. But Dragon Con founder Ed Kramer says the group that bought his Atlanta convention is cheating him on revenue proceeds, and that the concept is being run into the ground.

Kramer filed the suit in a superior court in Fulton County, Georgia, against Robert Patrick Henry. In the suit, Kramer claims Henry's Las Vegas misfire cost him revenue, and that Henry deceived Kramer, convincing him to sell his majority stake in the convention, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

A spokeswoman for Dragon Con told Airlock Alpha that Kramer has not been involved with the operation of the convention since the criminal charges were first brought against him several years ago.

"Although he is a minority shareholder in the corporation that runs Dragon Con, he no longer has control over management decisions," the spokeswoman said. "That loss of control may be what motivated him to bring these baseless allegations. Dragon Con has enjoyed great success since Mr. Kramer left, and we do not think a court will second guess the way the current management has run it."

Kramer is demanding a jury trial, and is seeking unspecified damages. However, if the case does go to court, Kramer says he can only stay in court about two hours at a time. He has trouble breathing because of a severe spinal cord injury, and it prevents him from staying alert for long periods of time.

But the suit against Henry isn't the only issue that has Kramer in court. The 47-year-old was arrested in 2000, accused of molesting three teenage boys. He has yet to be tried, and has remained under house arrest since 2001, while the courts try and accommodate his health issues.

While Kramer has pulled in support from federal and international leaders for how long it is taking to try his molestation case, prosecutors say it's Kramer, not the state, that is delaying the trial.

Kramer is a book editor, whose past projects have include "Dark Love," "The Sandman: Book of Dreams," "Free Space" and "Grails."

In his lawsuit, Kramer also claims that the most recent Dragon Con attracted more than 40,000 people, a third more than Dragon Con itself reported, saying he is owed revenue from that as part of his sale of the convention.

The next Dragon Con is scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 4 in Atlanta.