suave1477
10-26-2009, 09:31 AM
Yanks' costly error
$5M suit says seats are cheats
By JAMIE SCHRAM, AUSTIN FENNER and JEREMY OLSHAN
Last Updated: 7:14 AM, October 26, 2009
Posted: 5:09 AM, October 26, 2009
John Lefkus paid $2,000 to own the seats where for 23 seasons he cheered his beloved Bronx Bombers, but when the relics of the old Yankee Stadium arrived at his New Jersey home last summer, he instantly knew that something was wrong.
A new paint job had erased the two decades of wear and tear created by his posterior, and this new blue was at least a few shades off the original. Still worse -- and for this he had to consult photographs to be certain -- the original armrests were completely different from the ones that once supported his elbows.
http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2009/10/26/news/photos_stories/cropped/john_lefkus--300x300.jpg Brian Branch Price
ONCE MORE INTO THE BLEACHERS: John Lefkus says the Yankee Stadium seats that he bought for $2,000 aren't the real originals from which he watched the team for 23 years.
adsonar_placementId=1482040;adsonar_pid=871774;ads onar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=300;adsonar_zh=225;adsonar_jv='ads.ad sonar.com';
Steiner Sports, the company handling the sale of memorabilia from the old stadium, promised "authentic" and "unrefurbished" seats, but when company owner Brandon Steiner told Lefkus that it was impossible to locate his original armrests for section M11, Row A, seats one and two, he said he had no choice but to sue.
"Seats sold as authentic, unrefurbished, and original Yankee Stadium seats were simply new pairs of seats constructed with a combination of new hardware and repainted parts of old seats," according to the $5 million federal class-action lawsuit Lefkus filed against Steiner and the Yankees on behalf of thousands of fans who bought their old seats.
"I feel like the steroid stars. My seats come with an asterisk," Lefkus, 52, told the Post. "My boys grew up in these seats from boys to teenagers to men. We had them for 23 years."
Back in May, when the sale of seats was announced, Steiner and the Yankees made no secret of the fact that all the original paint would have to be stripped because of lead. A new color, resembling the faded blue, was used to simulate their original appearance.
Although the seat backs and bottoms were all tagged for identity before being treated, the armrests were not, Steiner said.
"It was impossible to tag all the armrests," he said. "They all had to go into an oven and we didn't have a system in place to keep track of them."
Steiner claims that he offered to refund Lefkus' purchase and even give him the seats for free.
"Then he tried to extort me, demanding I upgrade his season tickets and get him a whole bunch of autographs," Steiner said.
"Steiner's effort at changing the subject really doesn't address the problem raised in our lawsuit," attorney Ralph Stone responded.
I personally think this is a bit crazy. Steiner had made a public announcement that they had to refurbish the seats due to the lead paint on them.
So now basically this guy wants to make a mole hill into a mountain because of the armrests.
On top of that try to get more than he is being offered (Season tickets, Free Autographs etc....)
Steiner is offering him full refund and the seats.
Whats to complain about???
$5M suit says seats are cheats
By JAMIE SCHRAM, AUSTIN FENNER and JEREMY OLSHAN
Last Updated: 7:14 AM, October 26, 2009
Posted: 5:09 AM, October 26, 2009
John Lefkus paid $2,000 to own the seats where for 23 seasons he cheered his beloved Bronx Bombers, but when the relics of the old Yankee Stadium arrived at his New Jersey home last summer, he instantly knew that something was wrong.
A new paint job had erased the two decades of wear and tear created by his posterior, and this new blue was at least a few shades off the original. Still worse -- and for this he had to consult photographs to be certain -- the original armrests were completely different from the ones that once supported his elbows.
http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2009/10/26/news/photos_stories/cropped/john_lefkus--300x300.jpg Brian Branch Price
ONCE MORE INTO THE BLEACHERS: John Lefkus says the Yankee Stadium seats that he bought for $2,000 aren't the real originals from which he watched the team for 23 years.
adsonar_placementId=1482040;adsonar_pid=871774;ads onar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=300;adsonar_zh=225;adsonar_jv='ads.ad sonar.com';
Steiner Sports, the company handling the sale of memorabilia from the old stadium, promised "authentic" and "unrefurbished" seats, but when company owner Brandon Steiner told Lefkus that it was impossible to locate his original armrests for section M11, Row A, seats one and two, he said he had no choice but to sue.
"Seats sold as authentic, unrefurbished, and original Yankee Stadium seats were simply new pairs of seats constructed with a combination of new hardware and repainted parts of old seats," according to the $5 million federal class-action lawsuit Lefkus filed against Steiner and the Yankees on behalf of thousands of fans who bought their old seats.
"I feel like the steroid stars. My seats come with an asterisk," Lefkus, 52, told the Post. "My boys grew up in these seats from boys to teenagers to men. We had them for 23 years."
Back in May, when the sale of seats was announced, Steiner and the Yankees made no secret of the fact that all the original paint would have to be stripped because of lead. A new color, resembling the faded blue, was used to simulate their original appearance.
Although the seat backs and bottoms were all tagged for identity before being treated, the armrests were not, Steiner said.
"It was impossible to tag all the armrests," he said. "They all had to go into an oven and we didn't have a system in place to keep track of them."
Steiner claims that he offered to refund Lefkus' purchase and even give him the seats for free.
"Then he tried to extort me, demanding I upgrade his season tickets and get him a whole bunch of autographs," Steiner said.
"Steiner's effort at changing the subject really doesn't address the problem raised in our lawsuit," attorney Ralph Stone responded.
I personally think this is a bit crazy. Steiner had made a public announcement that they had to refurbish the seats due to the lead paint on them.
So now basically this guy wants to make a mole hill into a mountain because of the armrests.
On top of that try to get more than he is being offered (Season tickets, Free Autographs etc....)
Steiner is offering him full refund and the seats.
Whats to complain about???