2003 E500 for $300 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

curbfeeler · #1 08-29-2006, 01:48 PM

When Christopher Coon bought a $49,500 Mercedes-Benz E500 and later discovered the car had a problem, he did what many people do: He sued and won.
But that's not the end of this tale.
Coon, a Union County (Northern New Jersey) sheriff's officer and the stepson of longtime county Sheriff Ralph Froehlich, embarked on an extended legal offensive. When it was over, he ended up owning not only the Mercedes but three additional cars -- a Porsche 911, a BMW 530i and a Volvo XC90 -- for which he paid the princely sum of $300. At a Union County sheriff's auction.
County officials say everything was done legally. An attorney for Coon and his mother, who co-signed for the original car loan, said the dealer was guilty of fraud and had mounted its arguments only after losing the case.
Froehlich, the sheriff, declined comment through a spokesman.
Meanwhile, attorneys for Hillside Auto Center have returned to court, seeking to void the sale, calling the auction "a sham."
"These guys are just robbing us outright. It was a whole set-up," said Raj Srivastava, president of Hillside Auto Center. "A car we didn't make $1,500 on has become a $300,000 problem."
According to court documents, Coon purchased a year-old 2003 Mercedes-Benz E500 from Hillside for $49,500 and soon tried to resell it.
"I purchase cars," Coon said in court. "I drive them for a couple of months and then I sell'em."
But he said he discovered that the car's title showed it had been bought back by Mercedes from the original owner, making it all but impossible to sell.
While the contract notes the car was a buy-back vehicle -- Hillside says it was only a small glitch with the radio, which was fixed -- state law requires further disclosure with a specific form that Srivastava agrees was never completed.
So Coon and his mother, Marlene Froehlich -- who co-signed for the nearly $60,000 purchase that included the Mercedes and a payoff on a trade-in -- sued for consumer fraud in state Superior Court in Union County
Two judges disqualified themselves because of the sheriff's ties to the case. The case was eventually assigned to Judge John Malone, who held a nonjury trial in October 2005 in Elizabeth.
Malone found in favor of Coon and his mother two months later, and awarded more than $142,000 in damages and attorney fees. The dealership appealed but failed to post a bond, leaving it open to a court order allowing Coon and his mother to seize Hillside's assets to satisfy the judgment.
In May, sheriff's officers arrived at the dealership on Route 22 and, according to lawyers for Hillside, threatened to take all the cars on the lot, as well as office files and even an 80-gallon fish tank.
Eventually, three cars were seized -- the Porsche, the BMW and the Volvo, all 2004 models -- with a retail value of more than $100,000. A court document shows the vehicles were surrendered by agreement, but Hillside attorneys now say it was done by duress.
The cars were sold by a sheriff's officer at auction at a Westfield body shop last week to satisfy the outstanding judgment.
The only advertisement for the sale was a notice posted in the sheriff's office. Only one other bidder showed up, and Hillside claims he was there only to inflate the bids, with no intention of buying.
Srivastava tried to buy back the seized cars, bidding more than $110,000, according to a videotape of the auction. However, he failed to immediately produce a certified check as auction rules required, and the attorney for Coon and Marlene Froehlich declined to wait for the money Srivastava said was being brought by courier from a nearby bank.
And when the second bidder -- who had bid almost as much as Srivastava on each vehicle -- was asked if he wanted the cars, he declined. So the Porsche, the BMW and the Volvo were sold to Coon and Marlene Froehlich for $300 -- the minimum default bid entered on their behalf.

Now Coon and his mother technically hold title to the three auctioned cars, and Hillside still owes a judgment of nearly $142,000, minus the $300 the three seized cars fetched. If the dealership does not pay the difference, it will leave itself open to a further seizure of its assets.
Hillside's attorneys are seeking an injunction to halt the sheriff's office from delivering the three cars to Coon while an appeal is pursued. The cars remain locked in a Westfield body shop.
Union County officials say there was no wrongdoing. They even videotaped the auction -- which is not typically done -- with the understanding of who the plaintiffs were.
The tape, made available under the Open Public Records Act, shows Deputy Sheriff Lester Sargent reading the terms of the sale and stating that payment is due immediately. He then opens the bidding for each of the cars, and completes the sale in less than 15 minutes.
Sebastian D'Elia, a county spokesman, said the county counsel's office reviewed the sale and found it was "conducted in accordance with the law."
"The Sheriff's Department executed the order of the court, as it was charged, in the highest and professional manner," D'Elia said.
Henry Furst, the attorney for Coon and Marlene Froehlich, said his clients received no favoritism.
"The car dealers did not seek a change of venue and did not complain about the execution on two occasions when they had the chance in court," Furst said in a brief filed Monday. "Everything was done according to law."
Patrick Toscano, an attorney now representing Hillside, had a different view.
"It stinks to high heaven," he said.