Russo & Steele Faces Lawsuits

[Bill Pritchard]

You just knew it wasn't a matter of 'if', just a matter of 'when'....from this morning's edition of The Arizona Republic newspaper....

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2010/07/02/20100702biz-russo0702.html

[Xplantdad]

The auction cars were uninsured? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif

I think that they have to be insured as part of the contract (as stated in the story).

Tri-Rentals claiming an act of god isn't gonna fly... <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/no.gif

[al8apex]

wow!

&quot;Phoenix attorney Robert Greer is representing 22 owners, who collectively have about 50 cars. Those vehicles were uninsured. Damaged cars included a 1974 DeTomaso Panterra, 1956 Cadillac and 1979 Mercedes 280 SLC.

<span style="font-weight: bold">Greer said it is a common practice for car collectors to go without insurance because they carefully store their vehicles and rarely drive them.</span>&quot;

huh????

Collector car insurance is CHEAP, that is why we all have it (I thought)

what kind of lame brain does not have AT LEAST collector car insurance on their car(s)? It could be stolen, the water pipes in their garage could leak, LOTS of other reasons to have insurance. Maybe it was just the &quot;flippers&quot; that didn't have insurance ...

and then:

&quot;O'Connor (atty for RS) said that the car owners who have sued are ignoring the consignment contract that requires arbitration for any disputes with Russo. The contract also requires owners to insure their vehi- cles.&quot;

So the consignment contract states the owners have to have insurance, that is the end of that suit IMHO

[PeteLeathersac]

I wish Drew the best throughout this whole ordeal!.

<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif
~ Pete

[TimG]

I don’t think an act of God has anything to do with this claim being excluded, the question of coverage relies on negligence on the part of the tent company or the auction company. Many acts of God are covered by commercial and personal insurance such as tornado, lightning strikes, hail and others.

The question of negligence comes into play here. Is it fesible to erect a tent that can sustain winds of nearly 80 MPH and was the tent company negligent in the way they erected the tent? I really don’t know if they were, I don’t know if you can erect a tent and expect it to resist winds of that force. If a 25 MPH wind blew the tent over and poles damaged cars, they certainly would be negligent, reguardless of it being an act of God.

There may be some alleged negligence due to not securing the tent properly in the soft dirt instead of asphalt like the tents were erected at Barrett Jackson. Now is there negligence on the part of the auction company for not allowing the car owners to evacuate their cars prior to the winds or even remove them after the first round of damage occurred? There could be some negligence for them reguarding these decisions unless their hands were tied by the Fire Marshal

I’ll let you know that we were in the main tent at Barrett Jackson and they were very close to having the same situation happen to them, that tent was rolling like the waves on the high sea. I thought it was going to collapse on all of those cars including one that we brought from Austin. Would they have been negligent? I don’t know, but the only way to minimize that risk would be to construct a permanent structure that is built to withsatnd winds of 80 MPH.

[quick-bowtie]

I think it boils down to what America has become or is becoming in a fast way. PEOPLE NOT TAKING RESPONSABILITY FOR THERE OWN ACTIONS!!and always wanting to pass the buck or blame others! Its no ones fault but your own if you dont have insurance and something bad happens to your car. GROW UP

[ORIGLS6]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: quick-bowtie</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think it boils down to what America has become or is becoming in a fast way. PEOPLE NOT TAKING RESPONSABILITY FOR THERE OWN ACTIONS!!and always wanting to pass the buck or blame others! Its no ones fault but your own if you dont have insurance and something bad happens to your car. GROW UP </div></div>

Couldn't agree more, but that's not the American Way anymore. As long as we have attorneys willing to compromise ethics and principles to represent the irresponsible, ........ and all for the almighty dollar, ........ the US will continue to deteriorate. Sure beats working for a living, right? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/bs.gif

Just my personal opinion so if you disagree, jump on my back. But be advised; I don't subscribe to Political Correctness anymore.

[markjohnson]

I've been of the train of thought for quite a while that one of the biggest problems in the world (and particularly the United States!) is the LACK OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILTY. With todays' slick-dick lawyers, anything that happens is somebody's else fault and they should have to pay. I've said it before but I think it's just a matter of time before somebody tries to sue God Almighty for their losses. I'm sure the Vatican has substantial funds, so why not? Anyway, back to the subject.......it's a known but quiet fact that lots of &quot;lame-brain&quot; car collectors don't have insurance because they don't drive the cars and they are usually kept very secure in fortified buildings. We obviously won't be hearing from these collectors in this thread but I bet Hagerty gets a lot of phone calls soon. It's common sense that it's difficult to maintain and insure a fleet of 8-10-or more cars than it is to the average car guy with 1-2-3 cars. Most of these auction cars have avoided catastrophe for 30-40-50 years so the chances of something bad happening the day before it is going to be sold is nil. Well guess what.......&quot;nil&quot; happened! Now somebody has to pay and I'll assume that the party that makes out the best is the lawyer that walked around and left business cards on every damaged vehicle windshield.

[kwhizz]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ORIGLS6</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: quick-bowtie</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think it boils down to what America has become or is becoming in a fast way. PEOPLE NOT TAKING RESPONSABILITY FOR THERE OWN ACTIONS!!and always wanting to pass the buck or blame others! Its no ones fault but your own if you dont have insurance and something bad happens to your car. GROW UP </div></div>

Couldn't agree more, but that's not the American Way anymore. As long as we have attorneys willing to compromise ethics and principles to represent the irresponsible, ........ and all for the almighty dollar, ........ the US will continue to deteriorate. Sure beats working for a living, right? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/bs.gif

Just my personal opinion so if you disagree, jump on my back. But be advised; I don't subscribe to Political Correctness anymore. </div></div>






x 1000

Ken

[rubbinisracing]

Attorneys are not the problem, no more than gun manufacturers are when someone uses their product to commit crimes. Andy had it right...the problem is with those who seek recourse when they are chiefly responsible for their own loss.

[Charley Lillard]

The main tent at Barrett was fine. They announced it was rated for 100 mph. The adjoining tents on each end were not rated to 100 mph and they closed those off.

[427TJ]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: al8apex</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> what kind of lame brain does not have AT LEAST collector car insurance on their car(s)? </div></div>

A cheap lame brain.

[Kim_Howie]

Sorry Bill, but I don't carry ins on my cars!!
I am not cheap or a lame brain. Also I have been a Ins. Agent for 36 years.
Your comment is like me saying everybody from your state is a Idiot!!

[427TJ]

Kim, you are always the exception to any rule!

Happy 4th!

[Kim_Howie]

Just given you crap!! Also I love your camaro!!!

[427.060]

I can understand not having insurance on cars that are in a private collection and never leave the garage or warehouse they are stored in. If I'm taking a car half way across the country for ANY reason, it will have insurance on it.
James

[volspeed1970]

Not having collector car insurance or at least comprehensive (fire &amp; theft) is nuts. Don't believe me, just ask a few of the guys that lost their $150k+ cars in a garage fire back in 1998 when a prominent car builders shop burned to the ground after being hit by lightning. For the couple hunred dollars it costs me each year it is a no brainer, plus I carry &quot;builders risk&quot; on any car being restored that is not in my garage being worked on.

[njsteve]

I cannot see the reasoning for not having insurance on a car. The only logical reason for not insuring a car would be if someone is affluent enough to be self-insured but that only goes so far: it covers the car replacement in case of a loss.

As a paranoid, lunatic, attorney-type however, I tend to think about the unimagainable scenarios where someone would get dragged in and lose everything over an uninsured loss.

How unimaginable? Well, what if that tornado that hit R&amp;S had pulled a &quot;Wizard of Oz&quot; and lifted one of those cars, dropped it a few hundred yards away and killed a group of spectators nearby? A guy could become a former millionaire really quick with something like that happening.

Or here's another. Your uninsured car gets struck by lightening and burns up. Not a big deal until the fire spreads to a neighboring housing development and wipes out a row of houses and people...

Or aliens land and return Elvis Presley from the great beyond. He falls in love with your car and with his new magical powers he takes your car out for a spin. While driving your uninsured car, he gets distracted as he reaches for his vintage Bonanza lunchbox to get a peanut butter and 'nana puddin' sandwich. He then sees Lady Gaga and can't figure out if &quot;she&quot; is a she or a he and he crashes the car into a busload of defense attorneys on their way to an American Bar Association free luncheon. The next of kin of all those defense attorneys (because there was no way you could have gotten them all) then hire all the remaining defense attorneys to sue the uninsured car owner.

Even if you won every one of the above lawsuits, you'd still be broke from the legal fees you incurred defending them.

(Sorry, I had too much caffeine this morning) <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/naughty.gif

[budnate]

Steve those scenarios are great but...one little thing you left out...even with really good Insurance, once you Max out the policy and the Attorney looks at you and still see's some meat on the bone he's coming after you and going to take everything you have anyway, these bs car policy's are for normal loss, fender benders, god help you if something really tragic happens.

B. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

[njsteve]

You are quite right, Sir. <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif

[427freak]

What if you sold your car on the block 30 mins before the tent blew off and the new buyer was a first time classic car buyer that came to fulfill their dream of owning an old car, and the dream car had a pole laying on top of it now. These are probably some of the grey areas that are in question. Hope it works out for Drew and company as I am sure it was/is a nightmare for him.

[njsteve]

Seller owes nothing, New buyer probably covered since most policies, collector or not, cover new purchases for some finite period of time til you get the paperwork done.

[musclecars101]

<span style="font-style: italic"> </span> act of God ??? then Silver Auction must have direct line to God , they did not let cars park in there tents that nite ,The wind was forcasted at least a day ahead I had 6 cars that were insured 3 had 1 to 2000 in damage 2 were over$20,000 and I bought one there on Thursday and Russo wouldn't let me remove it from the property until after the auction it got hit by a tent or somthing (THEY HAD WARNING AND DID NOTHING) and thankyou to Grundy Insurance for fast and fair claims people. but much could have been done to prevent this,side walls on the tents maybe all it would take

[Xplantdad]

Side walls on the tents would have brought them down faster

[68427caprice]

There is another point of view for insurance.
It is called self-insurance.
It is used a lot in high net worth individuals and corporations.

Not that I would know...

[Bill Pritchard]

In this morning's edition of the paper, there's a story saying that Russo &amp; Steele is searching for a new site for the auction.

[firstgenaddict]

There is nothing wrong with the Lawyers/attorneys, they are very much required when someone is accused of a criminal act (whether it be wrongly or justly as well as when writing a contract, they just should never be allowed to write law or vote on the enactment of any law, regulation, etc.