Beach Boys Lose Souvenir Suit
The Beach Boys are bummed bummed bummed.
A federal judge has tossed a $60 million lawsuit the iconic surf-happy rockers brought against two men over a disputed trove of band artifacts.
U.S. District Judge Manuel Real ruled the band did not have ample evidence to prove that memorabilia collector Roy Sciacca and warehouse owner Allen Gaba, "stole, misappropriated or otherwise improperly wrongfully or illegally acquired any property."
Talk about your bad vibrations.
The Beach Boys' label, Brother Records, filed suit to stop a 2005 auction in London of rare photos, lyric sheets, videotapes, charts, old contracts and original recordings. The lots had been put on the block by Sciacca, who claimed he decided to sell his Beach Boys stash after seeing John Lennon's original handwritten lyric for the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" auctioned off for $1.25 million.
The Beach Boys contended the items had been stored in Gaba's warehouse in 1994 and were removed without permission. After learning of the items up for auction, the band subsequently reported them. After being made aware of the dispute, auctioneer CooperOwen halted the sale just an hour before bidding was to to begin.
No criminal charges were ever filed in the case.
Sciacca's attorney, G. Creswell Templeton, categorically rejected the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers' accusations, telling E! Online his client had legally purchased the items in a warehouse sale in the 1980s.
"The lawsuit was devastating to him on a lot of different levels both financially and emotionally because he's a collector and seller of Beach Boys memorabilia," the attorney said. "And having them making these kinds of allegations has just really, really interfered with his ability to do business."
Gaba, who did not have counsel, could not be reached for comment. A message left with Danny Morin, a lawyer for the Beach Boys, was not returned Wednesday.
The ruling clears the way for Sciacca to put the souvenirs up for sale again.
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