The Tom Petty estate and an auction house they claimed was offering stolen property that belonged to the deceased singer/songwriter have settled their dispute out of court.
According to a joint statement issued of Friday (12.08,), RR Auction and the Petty family confirmed that “all concerns regarding the recent offering of personal clothing and items of the rock star have been resolved without litigation.”
In May, after a series of items – including Petty’s “clothes, autographed items and limited editions” – were “allegedly stolen” from the Petty archives and then offered to the auction house by an undisclosed cosigner, the legendary singer’s estate threatened legal action against the Boston-based auction house.
At the time, the family said in statement:
“We believe RR Auction, headquartered in Boston, is offering stolen Tom Petty memorabilia with a completely false provenance inaccurate to fact and in complete denial of clear evidence they have been presented.” “They will not disclose the cosigner who has provided these items or how they were acquired. But they are clearly stolen, there is no other word for it.”
Subsequent to the legal threat and pending an investigation, the lots of Petty items were withdrawn from the auction block, and on Friday, both sides agreed that “RR Auction facilitated the safe return of the items, which have been returned to the Petty family’s secure archives, and there is currently no belief RR Auction committed or knew of any wrongdoing regarding the disputed ownership of the items,” adding “To show their gratitude, the family has agreed to a select few of the belongings to be offered for auction through RR Auction. The family supports the upcoming sale and verifies the authenticity of the items to be offered.”
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Takahiro Kyono from Tokyo, Japan