Daymond John is seeking a temporary restraining order against three former Shark Tank contestants.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Bubba Q's Boneless Baby Back Ribs owners Al "Bubba" Baker, his wife Sabrina and daughter Brittani allege John had cut them out of profits and tried to seize control of the business.
And now, John, 54, is taking action over their alleged efforts "to undermine a business partnership and the legal parameters they agreed to four years ago," his spokesperson Zach Rosenfield said in a statement to PEOPLE.
“After repeated attempts to give the Baker’s the ability to correct their violations. It is unfortunate that it has come to this," Rosenfield claimed in the statement.
"This temporary restraining order is due to the Baker’s blatant actions to undermine a business partnership and the legal parameters they agreed to 4 years ago. Their belief that they can unwind poor business decisions through slanderous social media posts and articles will no longer be tolerated.”
The Bakers first appeared on the show in 2013 as they pitched their pre-cooked boneless baby back ribs. They have since claimed that John's $300,000 offer for 30 percent of the company was revised off air to $100,000 for 35 percent.
The family was the subject of a recent L.A. Times investigation where they accused John of attempting to take over the business and brought up other concerns related to their business deal with John and manufacturer Rastelli Foods Group.
The family alleges that they have received around 4 percent of the publicly stated $16 million in revenue from the business, and that Al Baker had been left out of key business meetings. The Bakers have also posted a series of videos to social media in an effort to back up their claims with emails and other documents.
A case was dismissed by a federal judge in New Jersey without prejudice, and Rastelli has also started seeking a restraining order against the Bakers, per the Times.
After the report from the Times, which John called a "flawed interview" and a "false narrative" in a video posted to TikTok, he sent a cease-and-desist letter to the family demanding they “making publicly disparaging or defamatory remarks against Plaintiffs, and further, cease publicly revealing Confidential Information,” per the publication.
"The journalist, I believe the underlying issue here is, did not understand business as well as I would have liked her to," John alleged. In a letter to the judge, the family wrote that John and Rastelli's practices have caused "irreparable harm, particularly as the time on our patent is running out," per the Times.
“Sharing our experience on social media is an honest and truthful account of our journey,” they wrote. “We firmly believe that the truth is in the best interest of the public.”