Marvel Sues Ex-Contractor After Toiling To Recover Toy Tools

The comics company Marvel is suing a former contractor, saying it was forced to spend millions to retrieve toy-making molds and tools after their relationship was severed.

The suit seeks more than $6 million in damages from Jeffrey Hsieh of Hong Kong and two companies apparently affiliated with him, according to legal papers filed yesterday in Manhattan Supreme Court.

The papers say Marvel agreed to pay Mr. Hsieh's Worldwide Toys Ltd. more than $22.7 million upon ending their business relationship to make sure Marvel could retrieve its molds and tools to keep the toys on the market.

But Marvel had difficulty retrieving the items from Mr. Hsieh's subcontractors because they claimed Mr. Hsieh owed them money, the papers say. Marvel says it essentially had to pay for the items twice — once to Mr. Hsieh around December 2005 and then again to his creditors during the next year.

The suit claims Mr. Hsieh's Worldwide Toys was in debt because it had fraudulently moved $9.8 million to another company, Cornerstone Overseas Investments, apparently affiliated with him.

Contact information for the defendants in Asia couldn't be immediately found.

Marvel comics-themed action figures include some of the oldest and most recognizable collections of characters in the comics industry, including the X-Men, Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Fantastic Four and more than 5,000 other characters.