The founder of the Hells Angels motorcycle club has sued HBO over an upcoming pilot he claims to have helped create and is now being cut out of, the Hollywood Reporter says.

Sonny Barger, founder member of the Oakland, Calif. chapter of Hells Angels, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles last week against pay cable network HBO, production company White Mountain Co. and the project's writer/executive producer, Michael Tolkin.

“1%” is a motorcycle-themed drama pilot that will focus on Misfit, a biker sent from a Northern California chapter of the fictional Death Rangers, one of the toughest motorcycle clubs in the country, to an Arizona chapter to bring it under control.

Barger claims he first presented his best-selling autobiography to 20th Century Fox for movie development and thus came into contact with writer/executive producer Michael Tolkin, hired by Fox.

The two pitched HBO on a motorcycle club-centered series, and HBO subsequently turned to Tolkin to create it.

Production on the pilot is scheduled to begin this week.

Donal Logue will star as Misfit, while Hans Howes will portray a character named Cap. “Chief” is Barger’s well-known nickname and he says that particular character’s moniker, as well as other characters and locations in the pilot, are too close to reality.

The suit contends that “some characters introduced by Tolkin too close resembled or depicted living persons (in particular a character named ‘Chief,’ which for decades has been a well-known nickname or alias for Sonny Barger), that some actual place names used in the script were too identifiably associated with Sonny Barger and the Hells Angels (such as the primary location being Carefree, AZ, which is the town adjacent to where Sonny Barger presently resides, and that the principal character has moved from Northern California, which is exactly what Sonny Barger did).”

According to the suit, when Barger objected to some of the elements in the pilot, HBO “refused to acknowledge the contributions or authorship” of Barger and did not seek permission to “use or publish the name, trademark, persona or likeness of Sonny Barger for any purpose.”

Barger is seeking to have the show’s script declared a joint work of Sonny Barger Prods. and Tolkin, forbid Tolkin and HBO from selling or exhibiting the program, and award compensatory damages for exploiting Barger’s publicity rights, per the Hollywood Reporter.

Barger was the leader of the Hells Angels’ chapter who organized security at the Rolling Stones’ disastrous Altamont concert in 1969.