Two tour guides stood near the steps of Pioneer Courthouse on a recent morning: one surrounded by people, the other alone.

Eric Dodson, owner of Secrets of Portlandia Walking Tour, held his cellphone chest high while he broadcasted live on Facebook his interactions with the people around him. The videos are made to capture interactions his competitors may attempt with Dodson's group, he said.

"I can't sleep knowing there is someone plotting and scheming against me," Dodson said.

Dodson, who offers free walking tours of downtown Portland, has alleged defamation and emotional distress caused by his bigger competitor, Portland Walking Tours. In a lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Dodson seeks $49,000 from Portland Walking Tours after what he describes as several confrontations this year.

Dodson provides tours once a day from May through September, a peak season for outdoor walking tours. He said he began his business in 2012 after learning in Spain how to keep people entertained so that they tip at the end of a free tour. Tourists and people choose free tours over paid experiences when they have large numbers, such as big families, to avoid paying fixed prices, Dodson said.

"If they're not having a good time, they can take off," he said. "We have to give it 100 percent every day."

Dodson said since 2012 his clients have learn about his tours from websites like Yelp and TripAdvisor, which have generated hundreds of positive reviews. Dodson also says his tours have been mentioned in travel magazines and on TV. He leads one tour every day.

But Dodson, in his lawsuit, says competitor Portland Walking Tours has aggressively attempted to steal business by showing up to the same spot and claiming they have better tours and critiquing the information and jokes on his tour. The encounters have become verbally aggressive and caused Dodson anxiety and concerns for his safety, he said.

David Schargel, owner of Portland Walking Tours, said he can't comment specifically on the lawsuit. But he said he employs more than 40 tour guides who lead about 180 tours a week. He started his business almost 15 years ago, he said.

"I started with just me taking people around," he said. "My brother and I used to hang out at a hostel."

The lawsuit

Dodson and Karen Thompson, who is his attorney and his mother, filed the lawsuit May 30. The court record alleges troubles began five years ago, but the main cause of the lawsuit happened in May, Dodson said.

Schargel's employees first appeared at the steps of the Pioneer Courthouse in 2012 wearing plain clothes and offering free tours at the same time as Dodson's tour, according to the lawsuit. Weeks later, those tour guides began arriving in Portland Walking Tours uniforms and they continued to offer tours through October offering the same free tours at the same time as Dodson, according to the lawsuit.

Nothing happened for the next five years, Dodson said. Portland Walking Tours did not attempt any other disruption until 2017, he said.

"(Schargel) went into the Visitor Information Center and told everyone there that he was starting a free tour," Dodson said, "but he does not advertise on his website or on his fliers. He just sends his employees to rope people before they get to me."

According to the lawsuit, "a large man in his forties with long red hair that he wears in a bun" aggressively approached Dodson while calling him obscenities. The man, named John Doe in the court record, alarmed Dodson's clients and caused significant anxiety for Dodson, according to the lawsuit.

At the same time, another employee stood by holding a sign offering free tours and telling people looking for Dodson that she offered the same tour. Days later, Dodson had confrontations with employees that he recorded and posted on YouTube.

Dodson also recorded five of his clients after one of the confrontations. The clients said they were concerned and appalled by the behavior of Portland Walking Tours employees. The videos show verbal arguments between both sides.

"I so badly want to talk about it, but I just can't comment on the case," Schargel said. "The moment everything is wrapped up, I'm going to speak."

A court date has not been scheduled, and Schargel said his attorney will soon file a response to Dodson's lawsuit.

On Thursday, Kevin Michael Moore, one of the employees named in the lawsuit, silently stood holding a "Free Tours" sign about 20 feet away from Dodson. Dodson, who amassed a group of about 25 people, began his tour just after 11 a.m.

Moore hung around the same spot for another 15 minutes. He declined to comment about the lawsuit before he walked across Southwest Sixth Avenue back to the Portland Walking Tours office alone.

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— Tony Hernandez

thernandez@oregonian.com

503-294-5928

@tonyhreports