Victoria Secret’s billionaire founder Les Wexner is suing Bonhams auction house for selling him an expensive car when there was a apparent dispute over its ownership, reported the Daily Mail. Wexner paid nearly 11 million pounds or $17.46 million for the rare Ferrari. There are only five in existence and Wexner, who is 77, shelled out the highest price paid for a road-legal car in England.
The car is a 1954 Ferrari, 375 plus. At the time, it was the most expensive car sold at an auction. Part of the car was stolen from Ohio in the 1980s and was imported to Belgium. Years of legal disputes ensued, until 2013 when Bonhams brought the parties together and they all signed an agreement to “extinguish all claims and counterclaims” in 2013. Documents filed at the High Court dispute the claim that the issue was settled, and Mishcon de Reya, Wexner’s attorney, said, “false representations…were made to the buyer prior to the sale, either fraudulently or recklessly.”
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Wexner demands the the sale be rescinded, the money refunded and damage and compound interest be paid. Bonham’s said in a statement, “We are satisfied that any claim is wholly without merit and will be strongly contested.”
