Jay Leno sued over alleged wrongful purchase of collector car
Jay Leno is a big player on the antique car auction circuit, and his loaded airport hanger in Burbank is proof that the Tonight Show host has purchased his fair share of rare rides. One such vehicle was a 1931 Model J Duesenberg that he aquired from Manhattan's Windsor Garage back in 2005. The car was owned by the now deceased Macy's heir John Strauss, and his estate is suing Leno because they contend the garage sold it to him illegally. The garage states that Mr. Strauss, who suffered from dementia, owed over $29,000 in parking fees, giving them the right to sell the Duesenberg and a 1930 Rolls Royce that was purchased by another auctioneer. The Srauss estate says the garage was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for parking over the years, and $29,000 was drop in the bucket. We don't know all the legal issues (like title transfer of the Deuse) surrounding the suit between the Strauss estate and Jay Leno, but it seems as though the Windsor Garage would be a better target for the lawsuit. They did, after all, sell the vehicle that they were paid to care for. Then again, we have no idea what the laws are in Manhattan concerning garages that aren't paid and the delinquent cars that sit on their property, either. Thanks for the tip, Nick!
[Source: MSNBC]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
subaru guru 286 1:05PM (10/16/2008)
While Jay is the wrong person to go after, naming him in the suit doesn't cost anything extra and they'll let the judge decide.
But, if you're claiming that $29,000 in parking fees is a drop in the bucket, why didn't you pay it? Thank goodness for mechanic's liens...
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CarbonBlack 1:05PM (10/16/2008)
That's a shame for Jay-
He does great things regarding the restoration/protection of automotive history, and he isn't a prick!
Best of luck
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Jj 1:12PM (10/16/2008)
If they were only owed $29,000 why did they sell two vehicles?
Either one of those would have brought money than that, even "wholesale" to an auctioneer.
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Jj 1:13PM (10/16/2008)
Oops...MORE money than that.
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J M C 3 1:18PM (10/16/2008)
I read the article in The New York Post.
Windsor Garage bought the Rolls for $0 at the action they arranged.
Hmm.
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Sean Morris 1:56PM (10/16/2008)
Thats normal in a mechanics lien/lien sale. The owners are notified , then the car goes up for an auction.
The estate needs to try, and the key word being try to sue the garage, not Jay Leno. Its not his problem. He has the car, and he has money, so hes a target.
The estate doesn't have a legal leg to stand on.
J M C 3 5:38PM (10/16/2008)
You're right.
The irony is awful.
Those cars are valued at so much more than what the mechanic's lien must have been.Whew.
I think the man who owned those two cars was old and feeble minded according to the story.
Too bad.
AMcA 9:50PM (10/16/2008)
Correct - the estate took the funds from Leno and
didn't pay off the lien. The estate's on the hook.
UNLESS, somehow Jay had notice of the lien. Which I doubt, as someone would have seen to dealing with it.
The mistake the garage made was to let the car out of their hands. They probably had a right under New York law to hold it until the back fees were paid.
Doug A. 1:36PM (10/16/2008)
$29k in parking?! They must have just forgotten the car then decided that when someone that had money got it (Leno) they'd try to get it back, and prbly some money too.
I hope if he ends up having to return it they are required to refund his purchase price...
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Anson Chappell 1:54PM (10/16/2008)
hanger = something you hang clothes on.
hangar = something you put aircraft (or, in this case, collector cars) in
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Michael 11:59PM (10/17/2008)
Another case of incorrect Internet reporting.
"hanger = something you hang clothes on.
hangar = something you put aircraft (or, in this case, collector cars) in
Jay's hangar = a group of industrial warehouses near the airport. They are not on airport property and no aircraft has ever been parked in his buildings.
Eddie 1:58PM (10/16/2008)
I think he's being sued only because he is famous and rich. I think the people suing him are just out to make a quick buck. I highly doubt they will win.
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Jorge 11:06AM (10/17/2008)
+ 1 Same thoughts here
Steve 2:03PM (10/16/2008)
I recall a radio interview with Leno (Car Crazy?) in which he was talking about this purchase. It's been a while, but I recall him saying that there were substantial parking fees owed on the car but still far less than it was worth. He reportedly approached the family and attempted to buy the car directly from them (and, I assume, pay off the parking fees in the process) but they refused and after a while the garage seized it and sold it.
I don't know the situation personally, but I do wonder why the family didn't pay the fees and remove the cars before they got to this point. If they had been paying parking fees for a long time it isn't as if they weren't in some form of contact with the garage, right? I also have to assume that there is some process a shop or garage has to go through to execute a mechanics lein in which the owner is provided an opportunity to pay the fees or contest them. How else would title have passed to the garage so that they could sell the vehicles?
This is a bad situation and I hope Leno is in the right. One does need to question the sanity of anyone who lets a Duesenberg rot away in a NYC garage in the first place so his version of the story is plausible.
There are plenty of interesting "barn find" stories out there. I was personally involved in the sale of a 300SL Gullwing that had been left to rot in a warehouse for 30 years. We had to get the rat droppings out of the car before it could be moved. It turned out to be a factory-built rally car with unique options and sold for $350k needing a full restoration. The owner had dozens of other cars in the same sad state and he won't sell any of them.
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TJ 2:56PM (10/16/2008)
What is your exact line of work? Any other cool stories? that's awesome...any pics of the SL?
ehisforadam 2:25PM (10/16/2008)
I think it's kinda sad that they're doing something about this now. It seems like the family knew the car was there and how could they not think it was worth a lot of money to someone? It seems like they realized that they did something stupid in neglecting the car and now they want money for it.
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Cliff 1:47AM (10/18/2008)
Thats the thing, the family may not have known the car was there. When you have dozens of accounts its easy to stay on top of, when you have hundreds it can be difficult especially for someone in old age. This could easily be an oversight. Leno is named because he may have to return the cars, the garage may have to return the money to Leno and the family may have to pay $29,000. But I seriously doubt the garage is going to have the types of lawyers neccessary to go against a Macy's heir.
Cliff
Co-Founder NinjaTickets.com --Comparison Shop Event Tickets
John 2:49PM (10/16/2008)
Funny, if this story was about Rick Wagner and his hangar full of cars there would be a huge outcry over his excessive salary and everyone would be cheering for him to get raked over the coals in court. Yet Hollywood elitists like Leno get a free pass for flaunting their wealth and excesses in life.
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Tony 3:03PM (10/16/2008)
Uh, that's because GM's Rick Wagoner, who I think that you're referring to, is leading a company that is losing billions of dollars a year.
I don't think that Jay Leno's own production company is losing money at all, nor is it publicly traded.
You make it sound as if being wealthy is a crime. Jay Leno happens to be a celebrity, wealthy, and an auto enthusiast.
I think that being excessively rewarded for poor performance and then gloating in your riches would be in poor taste. Rick Wagoner != Jay Leno. Besides, I'm not even certain that Wagoner is an auto enthusiast. Bob Lutz is for sure...
JCoke 3:17PM (10/16/2008)
Leno didn't lead the Tonight Show into bankruptcy. There's less anger about highly paid people IF THEY DO THEIR JOB. Getting paid 60 million to lose 60 billion.. you can see why people would be upset at Waggoner.
I doubt they have a legal leg to stand on. Leno was a good faith purchaser of the vehicle. It's pretty hard to dun him for the money.
The garage is in a lot of trouble though. You do have the responsibility when selling repossessed property to do it in a reasonable way. Selling it to yourself for 0.00 is not reasonable. They would be up the creek on that alone, even if the seizure was kosher.