If you know anything about late night host Jay Leno, you know he loves to collect cars. He purchased a rare 1931 Duesenberg roadster formerly owned by Macy’s heir John W. Straus – or so he thought.
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Today, a lawsuit was filed by Straus’ daughter Wendy Lubin saying that Leno was illegally sold the car in a sham auction that was held while Straus, who died in May of 2008, was suffering from dementia. The car, along with a 1930 Rolls Royce, was stored in a Manhattan garage. Straus had parked both cars in the Upper East Side Windsor Garage for at least 50 years. Straus’ father Herbert had bought the car from the factory in 1931. Straus received it when he purchased it from his mother.
When Straus failed to pay his bill, the Upper East Side Windsor Garage sold the cars to Chapman LLC in a lien auction in April 2005. Chapman LLC then turned around and sold the Duesenberg, which only had 7,085 miles on it, to Leno and his production company for $180,000. The lawsuit alleges that the garage owners pocketed $140,000 after Straus’ account was credited $39,709 for the amount overdue for the storage.
The lawsuit claims that the deceased Straus tried to pay his storage bills, but the garage rejected the payments yet continued to bill Straus for storage until December 2005, several months after the car had been sold to Chapman LLC. The lawsuit alleges that after Straus refused Leno’s initial offer to purchase the Duesenberg, he and the owners of the garage entered into a deal to sell the cars that were worth a total of $1.7 million.
The lawsuit seeks not only the $1.7 million in damages, but also the return of the car. Lubin’s lawyer said that the car is a “precious family heirloom” and Straus never would have put it in jeopardy of auction due to non-payment.
Leno’s spokeman declined to comment on the lawsuit.