In April, KING 5 reporter Chris Ingalls called out Beacon
Plumbing—whose “Stop Freakin’, Call Beacon!” ads are ubiquitous
on Seattle public transit—for some unsavory business practices.
Among them: allegedly using substandard materials and hiring people
with “rap sheets for child rape.” Now the company is taking the station
to court.
On July 7, Beacon Plumbing filed a lawsuit against King
Broadcasting, accusing Ingalls and King of inaccurate reporting and
defamation. “Not only were some of the things [in KING 5’s reports]
inaccurate, but they were intentionally included… to be salacious,”
says Sean Moore, Beacon’s attorney.
Since mid-April, KING 5 has broadcast at least four investigative
reports about Beacon Plumbing’s business practices. The reports
detailed complaints against the company, alleged that Beacon hired
felons and unqualified workers, and described a Washington State
Department of Labor & Industries investigation into the
company.
In response, Beacon sent out a press release claiming that the
company has received complaints from less than 1 percent of its
customers. Court documents say Beacon also enlisted the help of
attorneys, who met with KING 5 representatives on May 7 and asked them
to kill an upcoming story that claimed Beacon has employees convicted
of child molestation and rape on its payroll. Moore denies claims that
Beacon employs child rapists—and hints that he thinks there may
be another reason KING 5 is pursuing Beacon Plumbing.
Moore says his firm is investigating a connection between a former
KING 5 producer—now employed by NorthWest Cable News (NWCN),
which shares a building with KING 5—and the owner of one of
Beacon’s competitors, South West Plumbing. The former KING 5 producer,
who moved over to NWCN in March, a month before the first Beacon report
was broadcast, is the daughter-in-law of South West Plumbing’s owner.
Moore also says he has “reason to believe there’s a connection between
the timing of the stories running and a dramatic increase in
advertising [by] some of Beacon’s competitors.”
Ingalls was not available for comment and KING 5 management said it
doesn’t comment on pending litigation. 
We apologize to any customers who have not been satisfied with our work. Customers are our priority and without them Beacon Plumbing would cease to exist. We take all customer suggestions and complaints seriously. If you have one let us know, we are always looking to become a better business.
If you ever have any suggestions or recommendations on how we can better serve you please contact us through our website at http://www.beaconplumbing.net
Thank you