The dealership that sold Jerry Seinfeld the Porsche that landed him in hot water this month over it’s authenticity is now being sued for their part in the ordeal.
At the beginning of the month, news broke that a suit was filed Comedian and vintage car collector, Jerry Seinfeld, for his connection to an (allegedly) counterfeit 1958 Porsche 356 that he had sold. The non-authentic car was sold for $1.54 million during the Amelia Island, Florida March 2016 auction. Now, Seinfeld is hitting back and defending his name and part in the mess by suing a California dealer in classic cars this week.
The lawsuit is seeking “unspecified damages,” according to USA Today. It was filed in Manhattan federal court against European Collectibles of Costa Mesa, California. "Mr. Steinfeld, who is a very successful comedian, does not need to supplement his income by building and selling counterfeit sports cars," the lawsuit said.
According to the lawsuit, Seinfeld owns one of the world's largest collections of Porsche vehicles, and the purchase of the vehicle in question initiated the first encounter with the California car dealer - it was the dealer who reached out to Seinfeld’s agent to see if there was interest in buying the classic Porsche from them.
The exchange of the car creating all of this controversy went down on February 2013, when European Collectibles sold him the car for $1.2 million, and provided a certificate of authenticity. When Seinfeld sold the car three years later to Fica Frio Limited, based in the Channel Islands, he was relying on the company’s certificate to advertise the car for what it is supposed to be.
When Fica Frio sued Seinfeld earlier this month, they set out to recover the money from the sale, as well as all of the cost that have incurred as a result. Once Seinfeld learned of this, he is said to have promptly contact European Collectibles, "To date, European Collectibles has refused to do so," the lawsuit said.
Orin Snyder, Seinfeld's lawyer said, ”Jerry has no liability in this matter, but he wants to do the right thing, and is therefore bringing this action to hold European Collectibles accountable for its own certification of authenticity, and to allow the court to determine the just outcome.”
