Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

Received the following email just a short time ago from Sports Car Market Magazine.


SCM received the following press release moments ago. It is reprinted here in its entirety.


SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. MARCH 16, 2007 - Late yesterday Barrett-Jackson Auction Co. LLC filed suit in U.S. District Court in relation to a situation that occurred at the company's January 2007 Scottsdale event.

A consignor, apparently unhappy with the $300,000 sale price of his vehicle, placed chains and locks on the vehicle after it crossed the auction block and was sold, while it sat in the area where featured auction cars were displayed. He posted multiple notices on the vehicle claiming that the sale was void due to claimed "auction irregularities," and published other false and defamatory statements about Barrett-Jackson in view of the company's customers and the thousands of patrons attending the event. Barrett-Jackson's internal legal and security teams, and the Scottsdale Police Department, responded to the incident and documented the damage.

An ongoing internet smear campaign has stemmed from this seller dispute, with numerous defamatory rumors and untrue statements being published to websites and online chat rooms viewed by the company's core customer base. In particular, an untrue, derogatory and defamatory "article" referring to the above incident has made its way onto more than 20 automotive-related online "blogs" and discussion boards frequented by thousands of classic car enthusiasts around the world.

Barrett-Jackson filed its lawsuit in order to protect its 36-year reputation and business interests by seeking to correct the untrue information that has been published, and by filing suit against the responsible party on six separate counts, including defamation and breach of contract.

Barrett-Jackson constantly strives to maintain the utmost ethical standards in all the company's operations and activities. The company recognizes that not every customer will be happy with the result of every auction sale, and the Barrett-Jackson team values thoughtful, well-informed feedback.

However, Barrett-Jackson takes the company's business reputation very seriously, and will do whatever is necessary to defend against unfounded claims. Copies of the lawsuit can be obtained by contacting the clerk of the U.S. District Court in Phoenix or at www.azd.uscourts.gov.




*About The Barrett-Jackson Auction Company: * Established in 1971 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., Barrett-Jackson specializes in providing products and services to classic and collector car owners, astute collectors and automotive enthusiasts around the world. The company produces the "World's Greatest Collector Car Events" in Scottsdale and Palm Beach, Fla. For more information, visit www.barrett-jackson.com.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

More B-J response, written prior to the lawsuit, and posted on a blog site where the original rumors were posted.

Barrett-Jackson responds

As always Barrett-Jackson wishes to thank our many customers, guests and fellow car enthusiasts. Working together we create something very special in Scottsdale every January and Palm Beach a couple of months later.

However, some recent, false postings on blogs and discussion forums now force us to shift from thanking so many to asking an irresponsible few: “what were you thinking?”

Also, please consider this posting an official, legal request of this blog from Barrett-Jackson to remove all content sparked by the post below since the original source of the information has since retracted the story and further publication of it, such as on this forum, will be subject to the aggressive legal action we should and must take to eliminate the absurd and false information contained on this site.

Though our attorney disagrees with me, I am of the mindset that Mr.
Barer’s original comments at www.apexstrategy.com (fourwheeldrift blog) – comments that led to others such as this blog to post the same inaccurate, irresponsible and legal defamatory information about Barrett-Jackson’s business practices -- may have been naïve or
innocent. That’s because he may have simply been careless to repeat
rumors he has heard from so-called “insiders” who claim to know various salacious things about our recent event. It is hard to imagine that a “freelance journalist” (as Mr. Barer’s website defines him) would recklessly publish so many unfounded and untrue statements in one package. Regardless of Mr. Barer’s intent, Barrett-Jackson takes all public attacks on its business practices quite seriously, particularly when they are published to an audience as far-reaching as users of the Internet by someone holding himself out as a professional journalist.

As with Mr. Barer’s original posting – one he has now replaced (see
below) --repeating his original comments on this blog does not excuse the false and defamatory information now posted as a result of Mr. Barrer’s original, bogus entry.

As President of Barrett-Jackson, I can assure readers of this forum that the claims made in Mr. Barer’s posting are patently false. There is no lawsuit by a well-known judge. There is no class action lawsuit. There is no situation involving Barrett-Jackson owning many cars that are run through the auction and providing “shill bidders” to inflate prices of vehicles. There are no secret trucks transporting vehicles back to Barrett-Jackson’s “warehouse” after unsuccessful sales. It is impossible to respond to each of the claims made in this posting in any reasonable, professional manner, and Mr. Barer should not be so reckless in repeating as “proven” such fabricated stories. This forum should not be so reckless as to repeat them.

In fact, the laundry list of wrongdoing cited as fact by Mr. Barer would be almost comical if the statements were not so directly harmful to the business that hundreds of people have worked so hard to build in these last
36 years.

The varied and far-fetched claims made by Mr. Barer in his story are not worthy of any further response other than to say that the only lawsuit surrounding these matters is likely to be one for defamation filed by Barrett-Jackson against any and all who repeat fantasy rather than fact.

Finally, thank you to all of our bidders, buyers and enthusiasts who wrote in and directly refuted this nonsense. It had an impact on Mr.
Barer and if we have one thing to thank him for is that he was willing to listen after receiving an avalanche of testimonials and facts directly refuting his rumor and innuendo.

Good people when confronted with good, new information re-evaluate and correct course. That is what Mr. Barer has done and what this forum should do as well.


Steve Davis

President

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

If it goes to court and regardless of who wins Blondy, Shades and BJ's reputation can still take a hit if the defendant brings certain indisputable truths to light. And IMHO I can't imagine B/J WITHOUT at least some dirty laundry.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

"the above incident has made its way onto more than 20 automotive-related online "blogs" and discussion boards frequented by thousands of classic car enthusiasts around the world."

always important to state the facts I know to be true, otherwise, it's just my humble opinion and should be indidcated as such to protect ourselves and our host sites from crazy lawsuits. JMHO

now, about that one of one...........

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

Here's a link to the actual court filing naming the defendant.

http://www.sportscarmarket.com/bjcomplaint.pdf

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

Sounds like the Seller went off the Deep End when the car didn't sell for what he wanted.......This is not good for all that are involved.......

Ken

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

..which car was it?

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

[ QUOTE ]
Sounds like the Seller went off the Deep End when the car didn't sell for what he wanted.......This is not good for all that are involved.......

Ken

[/ QUOTE ]

This gets back to the heart of the matter that was discussed
to death here a couple of months ago. No Reserve Auctions https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...s/headbang.gif

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

The complaint has the name of the defendant and a description of the car.

There is a larger issue here and it has to do with the so-called "new media". A lot of bloggers like to claim they are "citizen journalists". To some extent, that's like saying you're a "citizen surgeon". I'm not saying there are not a lot of good bloggers out there who are careful before they start hitting the keys. But, there are a lot of bloggers who are simply rumor mongers. Rightly or wrongly, on this site and on any other, what you write doesn't go away. If a journalist is repeating rumors and innuendos about individuals or companies without checking the truthfulness of what he/she is writing, then they are exposed for a big lawsuit. The first thing the "citizen journalist" bloggers should have done, in this and many other cases, is to check the facts. Did he ask to speak to the people who claim to have inside information? Did he ask to see the alleged rooms where BJ was storing cars, the secret trucks, the crooked judges and the shill bidders? There's always the best question a journalist knows to ask someone they're interviewing, "how would I know for sure what you're telling me is the truth?".

Some journalists are fond of saying, "there's always two sides to a story". In fact, there may be many sides to a story. What you find out when writing a story is that each answer usually brings more questions. What you also know is that you can't be in a hurry to publish or post your story. Haste not only makes waste, it also makes lawsuits.

That's why this lawsuit is a good thing, not only for the auction industry, but also for all the new journalists out there. If the allegations of impropriety are true in the auction industry, then it will come out in court. The defendant(the Michigan bank), will have it's time in court to present it's evidence including witnesses to the alleged B-J inproprieties. The suppoena, the deposition, the documents, and the testimony will prove or disprove, in this case at least, what's the truth and what's fantasy.

It also is a lesson to all of us to be careful about what we say or write about someone, his car and his business. Unless we know for sure the facts, then there's always some lawyer lurking who's more than willing to make you pay to defend what you said or wrote. Even if you're right, it may cost you a bundle to prove it. One of the laws of slander and libel is that the "truth is the best defense". We have to make sure we're telling the truth.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

[ QUOTE ]
..which car was it?

[/ QUOTE ]


This one!!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...aaaaaaaaaa.jpg

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

Nice Piece.
PJ

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

I'm curious as to what members think the above car is worth ? It sold for 300K ?

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

Mucho Dinero for a Pro Street Cuda. I think he should be pleased.

I know the attorneys are...lots of billable hours. $20k just to get your attorney up to speed on the collector market.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm curious as to what members think the above car is worth ? It sold for 300K ?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm curious as to the Motive behind the Seller......was he one of the people that thought by bringing a car to the Auction that he was "Guaranteed" a nice profit and had a number in his head and anything below that he was getting Screwed by B-J????? Sounds like a "Spoiled Brat" that didn't get his way........"Everyone" knows the rules going in......."NO RESERVE"......Maybe the guy is a Lawyer so he thinks the rules are for everyone else other than him........
I'm sure there were a lot of "Sellers" who were very dis-satisfied with the pricing, But........they understood the rules...........Look at Oehlers Nova....
In my opinion from the facts as they are stated, the Seller is being very Disruptive and completely out of line
I think he got a "Fair" price for the car......just my $.02

Ken https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...mlins/flag.gif

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

[ QUOTE ]
.....Maybe the guy is a Lawyer so he thinks the rules are for everyone else other than him........

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually the seller, David Clabuesch, are you ready for this .........is a Judge. Yeah that's right, he's a Judge in Huron County Probate Court.

Here's a link to the full story: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...rrett0317.html

There's also a video on that link that show the chains and you hear from the seller.

This is going to get very interesting.......

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

------Even the most naive B/J seller knows that although not without its own set of problems, one can and many do buy thier own car back. Its ludicrous to think that this seller knew he was getting that much less than he wanted and he simply did nothing but go out and buy chains and padlocks after the fact. Im a poster boy for not getting what I want at auctions and this solution never occured to me.
------As good a question as what we think the car was worth is what did the owner think it was worth to take such a rash action that was bound to have repercussions??? Probably expensive repercussions!!!.........Bill S

------The post above answers my question yet begs another. That the judge had a rough figure in mind I can understand. But now we find out that he made a profit,,,just not enough to satisfy his greed. The actions he took are even stranger under this set of parameters. I really dont see B/J quick-gavelling a car with this history. I didnt see this car go off but the auctioneers must have felt it was all done. As they stated they would have been shorting themselves in the process........Bill S,,,,again!

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

From what I read, he made 75 grand in profit on the car. I wish I could make that kind of cash on ANYTHING!! If it were me, I would be very happy with a profit like that.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

I would like to hear the History and Pedigree of that car !
Didnt they rep the car as a REAL ????? If its not real,300K was ALL the money ! https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...s/confused.gif

Cant believe he cashed the check !!

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

SSjunkie...I can't find the video.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

[ QUOTE ]
SSjunkie...I can't find the video.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's at the top right of the page Charley.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

Charley it's to the right of the page at the top with a big number 12 with the NBC logo...

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

I got it. I must need more coffee.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

Let's see if B/J gets a few nicks in the fight or will there be a confidential settlement which will keep any of B/J's dirty laundry hidden and save the defendant a costly legal battle. This one ain't going before a judge!

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

Aftert watching the video......This is a perfect case of what this Country is turning into.........The Contract means nothing........It's the Interpetation of what one party perceives the outcome should be, and if he doesn't like it......."SUE"........Can you say "Black and White"....It should be that simple........Except when "Legaleze" comes into the picture.........Take me back to when Life was simple and before the Legal System took over the Justice System.......I could resolve this Issue in 30 seconds..........Lawyers....... The Judge was probably a Lawyer before he was a Judge...........Figures.....

Ken https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...mlins/flag.gif

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

Ok, I agree with you to a certain extent in general .....but it's BJ that has a filed suit not the seller, the Honorable Judge Clabuesch. BJ should of left this one alone. Look how many people forgot about it already. Now it's all back to the front page.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

Junkie...............I disagree.....B-J has to disprove what said to keep the Integrity of their Business Model Intact.............They didn't start this fight "AND" they have to do what's Right to establish a Standard for future Auctions.............Just think, Now they have to put up signs to keep out Chains and Locks.........If they did nothing, what would the next guy push the Limit to if he was unhappy with the results...........Gotta Nip it in the Bud........ my $.04

Ken

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

What I find most interesting is that BJ indicates that it lost potential consignors for it's Palm Beach auction, thereby blaming the defendant for it's relatively low amount of consignments this year? BJ will actually have to provide proof of these claims and damages as part of it's case in chief to succeed with this lawsuit.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

[ QUOTE ]
BJ will actually have to provide proof of these claims and damages as part of it's case in chief to succeed with this lawsuit.

[/ QUOTE ]

bingo.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

This humors me to no end. Whomever said that BJ should forget about this is exactly right. Over time, the blogger will either get tired of blogging about the issue, or people will stop reading about it.

Those guys at BJ think they are now the Upper Crust, and they are not. While they may have been nice guys at one point, the whole circus reminds me that they are a bunch of stepped-in-it luckies that happened to be at the right place at the right time. At this point, they should be happy they've been as successful as they have, and remember that the market changes; it's changing right now. So, blaming one person for a fall-off at Palm Beach is like GM and Ford blaming everyone except themselves for their current problems.

I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but when people/companies get fat and happy, and especially when they weren't sophisticated organizations to begin with (BJ), this is what you get.

Oh well, I think those guys are dicks anyway that scalped the hobby for their own financial gain.

Just my $.02...

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

I disagree--Craig Jackson and his team have worked hard to make the company successful. To an extent, we are all parts of that greed equation--buy low, sell high. I think it's smart for BJ to sue--they should be willing to spend $500K on a $50K injury to show other jerks that they will not tolerate this behavior. Hey, the Seller could have put the car on Hemmings or on this website for that matter if he thought BJ was crooked. There's also other auction houses that could have handled the sale.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

Outside chance more folks'll be tuning in to the auction coverage on Speed?

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

With so many issues of late to consider especially after Scottsdale, how convenient the confusion be focused on this Cuda case all while everyone slips into the Palm Beach sale....smoothly done?.

And whatever way the Cuda case itself turns out, I'm happy the buyer ended up with the car...who is he?.
https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...ins/3gears.gif
~ Pete

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

IMO... The Judge picked this fight from the start -I think from the minute the gavel came down he was gonna get his "pay back".

Objectively there would have been no war to wage with anyone with a reserve format. Judge could have then thrown tomatoes at himself.

Pass the popcorn. I think win or loose BJ still looks like they are beating up on the small guy, on an issue that was mostly forgotten. Now it is all dredged up again. Not good.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

whether people want to admit it or not there was some shady things at this years auction.."more than normal I should say" I DONT think Barrett Jackson is behind it but they should take a strong approch to fixing it. I personally saw more than once a car getting bid up and then the high bidder stating he didnt bid that amount and backing out and sellinhg to the next lowest bidder.. I can see that happening on accident but this happened ALOT. Barrett should have throwen these guys out on there butt for running up the bid which was cleary what was being done. And from my personal experince which chaps me to this day is I clearly had the high bid at 95k on the Motion Race car (bidder assistant had his arm in the air with his fist clinched and yellow hanky with me) and they break away to take about the car again and when they starting taking bids again a guy in the sky box has the bid at 95k???? what the heck I clearly had it and then they asked if I wanted to bid again? Ahh NO THANKS I dont play that game.

As for selling a car every seller knows what he is getting into prior to the auction so crying about it falls on deaf ears I think, but Barrett really needs to crack down on a few things and not let so many spectators in there because its hard to see a real bidder if they want to bid, I personally thought the RAM CHARGERS car was a steal it should have done 500k on the bottom side but thats the chance you take when bringing it to a no reserve auction.. It for sure was not the only GREAT buy at the sale and you dont see any other guys crying foul. They need to make it a car auction again and not the circus it has turned into. JMHO

In my opinion Mecum Auctions will be the PRIME USDA STEAK of the Auction world in the NEAR NEAR future, they are way more people friendly and down to earth, and best of all they have just a plain and simple car auction.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

Anyone wondering about the Judge in this case? If he is a
Judge, he must know the law ( one would hope anyway ) and I
doubt he would put himself in harms way if he didn't really
get rooked. This is going to get interesting. https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...ins/tongue.gif

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

Don't feel bad Charley I couldn't find the video either until you asked. I was waiting for someone as clueless as I am to ask where it is. Thanks.

Does anyone know who has actually seen a BJ consignment contract if it states each seller will get a full three minutes on the block? Absent that language BJ can run the cars through at any speed that they want, and essentially drop the hammer when ever they want leaving this judge without a counter claim. His claims of negligence are baseless.

This Michigan probate judge has got some problems right now. First he has to respond to the lawsuit regardless of it's merits in Arizona federal court and file an answer to the suit, or resolve it with BJ attorney's before his time to file an answer is up. BJ attorney's now have been paid a retainer to file this suit and realize their client(BJ) has deep pockets and are not going to be motivated to resolve this before running up as much billable hours as humanly possible.

Presumably this Michigan judge is not licensed in Arizona or that Federal district and would need to get the Federal district's judge's approval to make an appearance in that district. I would also presume as a Michigan probate judge he has a full docket every day in Michigan and can't allocate much time to responding to this suit. Nor can he just fly down to Arizona each week to handle the various motions BJs highly paid attorney's will be filing as fast as they can. That being said the Michigan probate judge will probably have a limited legal background on this new and lucrative field of internet defamation, and he probably hasn't looked at the law regarding defamation since law school. I would suspect he will be forced to hire an Arizona attorney who specializes in this area of the law and is also licensed to practice in Federal court which costs more than an attorney whose practice is primarily state court. I would suggest that his 75K profit from the sale of that car will be depleted rather quickly in defending this suit. If he elects to file a counter claim against BJ for breach of contract or some form of negligence that will add more to his fee's. Perhaps he can find an attorney friend from Michigan who is willing to get certified to practice in Arizona federal court and fly down to represent him, but that will also involve quite a bit of expense. Ugh!

Even if this judge is somehow able to file a counter claim or perhaps a class action lawsuit with the help of other unhappy sellers it is going to be very expensive and problamatic for him.

His prospects will all come down to the contract he signed when he consigned the car, otherwise defending this suit is going to be very expensive. IMHO and my two cents.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

I totally agree with the above post.

Regardless of the situation, why one would attempt to sue a judge is beyond me, and leads me to believe that the BJ people feel they carry a big stick.

Either way you slice it, the premise of the lawsuit (libel), if substantiated by the blogger with factual information, isn't libel. Because this was covered on T.V., and with witnesses, I'd say that BJ should have just forgotten this and moved on. Or, recognized it as a legitimate gripe, addressed each of the blogger's issues, and improved their (BJ's) operations. Instead, they choose to sue...? Un, not the smartest move.

Anyhoo, whatever... BJ probably sees this as a chance to make more $$, and is blind to the fact that lawsuits are damaging-- Think about it, even if BJ wins, they lose.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

MIdas.........Who cares if the guy is a Judge or a Waiter..........It's a matter of "Right" and "Wrong".......Don't you Get it.....
There are two actions at stake here....The Libel ( Tough to Resolve).....and the Actions of the Seller after the Sale............Why are you Blaming B-J........Were they the ones that Breached the Sales Contract........Remember......After the Gavel is dropped....the car has a New Owner......How would you feel if you had bought the car and this guy comes over and decides that even though you bought the car thru a Legal Venue, that he didn't want you to have it put the chains thru the rims (scratching them) and padlocked everything......what if the next guy decides to sabotage the engine or whatever because they are "UnHappy" with the Results.........Where does it end????
B-J is doing what they have to do........Don't you understand that.........Again.......what if "You" had bought that car

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

Les...Someone had posted the consignment contract on another site and there is no gaurantee of 3 minutes on the block. The language was clear that Barrett-Jackson could make all the decisions as to how long it was on the block. I think B-J is correct in going after this guy. The fact that he is a judge just re-enforces that even supposedly smart people can do really stupid things. As to the value. I'm would not pay 300K for that car. A friend that has some of the best Mopars had no interest in that car.

Re: Barrett-Jackson Lawsuit
 

In this life right or wrong is usualy defined by how much legal fire power you can afford. Just ask OJ.I know one thing I would be very reluctant to go against a judge.
I think that there is a lot more to this episode than meets the eye. .I also hope that it is not swept under the rug.We might just learn something."HEAR COMES DA JUDGE" https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/dunno.gif
Its popcorn time!
Sorry I dont have a pic of "the Judge"

PJ