Is Bobby Everhart, Owner of Sunset Graphics, Guilty of Hijacking a Client’s Domain and Posting Unauthorized Content?

By:  Steve Williams

Say it isn’t so! No web developer worth their salt would do such a thing. The overwhelming majority of web developers know that hijacking a client’s domain is a HUGE no-no. Surely Bobby Everhart of Sunset Graphics understands that only the dirtiest, most unethical developers engage in this kind of business practice.

I am willing to give Mr. Everhart benefit of doubt on this one. The domain and website in question has been used since 2002 for an annual racing event in North Carolina. The domain and website for the event was originally established the same year as the inaugural event by a developer in New York. A few years later the client decided to seek the web development services of Sunset Graphics to build a fresh site for the event. The domain was readily made available by the original developer so that Mr. Everhart and Sunset Graphics could develop and host the new site.

Fast-forward to 2014. After the 2013 event held in November, the client decided to enlist the services of a different web developer for the event website.  Mr. Everhart and Sunset Graphics refused to transfer the domain to the client, and to add insult to injury, posted unauthorized content on the site leading up to the 2014 running of the event.

I will attempt to put this issue in perspective. The web domain for this event is exactly the same name as the event’s brand name. Both had been in use since the inception of the event 11 years previously. The destructive impact of not having a long standing branded website domain available is incalculable. Not only was the web domain inaccessible to the client, the website was also not available for patrons and participants of the event. Mr. Everhart and Sunset Graphics instead chose to publish a one page opinion article on the domain in place of the original site design. Up to this point the website had been used for event promotion, ticket sales, and event registration.

The actions outlined above are worst case scenario for any business that has their website hijacked by a rogue developer. Can you imagine the damage that the event suffered as a result of Mr. Everhart’s actions?

The lesson here is that if you are the owner of a small business and are thinking about hiring a developer to design a website for you, please take precautions when it comes to your domain. If possible, register the domain yourself. As I stated at the beginning of the article, the vast majority of web developers are honest business people that take pride in their craft and understand the importance of engaging in ethical business practices.  

At the time of this writing, Bobby Everhart and Sunset Graphics still refuses to relinquish control of the domain to the client--the original promoter of the event.

Update: As of 6/6/2015, almost six months after agreeing to transfer the northsouthshootout.com website domain, Bobby Everhart and Sunset Graphics FINALLY transfered the domain to the rightful owner. The mind boggling thing about this whole episode is that Bobby Everhart still claims that he did nothing wrong. He had the audacity to ask request an apology from me for writing about the incident. As a stakeholder in CCRP, the parent company that owns the North South Shootout brand, I lost income related to his actions.

Mr Everhart wants an apology, well ok.

To Bobby Everhart and Sunset Graphics,

I am sincerely sorry that you are so delusional that you think it was ok to claim personal ownership of a client's website domain that you, without a shadow of a doubt, knew did not belong to you. I am sorry that you are so delusional to think that it was ok to hijack the domain prior to the 12th annual running of the event, dismantle the website, and publish unauthorized content. I am sorry that this is the way you treat clients that trusted you to be an honest, ethical, website developer.

Steve Williams,

The End