The Big Apple Circus, which was forced to take down its tents ahead of bankruptcy proceedings in 2016, now faces a big lawsuit over the firing of one of the partners involved in turning the then-failing circus operation around.

According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Larry Solheim and his wife Rita were critical parts of the winning proposal approved by the circus’ board to take over the management and production coming out of bankruptcy.