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A Jersey-based company is suing one of the US’ most successful comedians after it emerged that a $1.5million vintage Porsche bought from him at auction was fake.
Classic car collector Fica Frio, which is registered in New Street, St. Helier, says that Jerry Seinfeld – star of the eponymous comedy series for which he raked in £1million per episode – knowingly missold them the vehicle and is seeking damages in a New York court.
Represented by classic car expert James Haithwaite, who works locally, and son of a billionaire philanthropist Carlos Monteverde, Fica Frio bought the car at a Florida auction in 2016.
Court documents say that Mr Seinfeld – an avid car collector – attended the auction alongside motoring TV show host Spike Feresten.
A description of the vehicle – a purported 1958 Porsche 356 A 1500 GS/GT Carrera Speedster – said that it was one of an exclusive batch of under 60 and was a “stunning example of a rare thoroughbred Porsche” and would appeal to the collector who “demands only the very best”.
During the auction, Mr Seinfeld reportedly praised the “delicious” interior smell of the vehicle that had been in his ownership since 2012, urging others to “smell it”.
Pictured: The "counterfeit car" in question was a purported vintage Porsche.
Fica Frio made a winning bid for $1.4million, which, added to the auction’s buyer premium, meant that they spent $1.54million overall (around £1.2million) on the “prized” car.
The company then went to UK-based Maxted-Page to market and sell the Porsche. However, they “expressed concern” over the vehicle’s history file, particularly noting the lack of photo evidence of restoration work to the vehicle.
Inspections later revealed that the vehicle was not real.
Fica Frio representatives contacted Mr Seinfeld to demand a refund in 2018, to which he replied in a voicemail message that he’d heard about the “counterfeit car” and apologised for the “nuisance”.
He further promised that Fica Frio would be “completely indemnified in full and not have to keep the car and get all your money back”, later adding: “[I] would also love to know how your guys figured it out because I find that to be interesting cause that’s impressive my guys did not I guess see anything amiss with the car when I bought it.”
Pictured: The case is being heard in the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York.
However, the company say they never heard back from Mr Seinfeld or received their money.
They’re now seeking a full refund or damages for a series of claims against Mr Seinfeld including: negligent misrepresentation, intentional misrepresentation (they argue Mr Seinfeld “acted with reckless disregard of the truthfulness of the representations that the Vehicle is authentic at the time the representations were made as to its authenticity”), mutual mistake, breach of oral agreement and breach of express warranty.
The case could be to be fairly costly: a dispute over where to hear it alone cost $75,000.
Mr Seinfeld will now have to respond to the allegations in what could be a very costly case, with a dispute over where to the court case alone costing around $75,000.
The case continues.
Lead photo: Jerry Seinfeld at the Emmy Awards in the 1990s. (Wiki/Alan Light)
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