I grabbed the complaint of off the LA Superior Ct website. The allegations, if true, present a very incestuous picture of the auction market. Very very ugly stuff. If you want a copy email me. bpershkow@yahoo.com
Barry,
I read the complaint thanks to you. Quite fascinating.
man Koch has really played Irell well in the last 3 years.
Barry – is this the original complaint by Koch vs. Rudy that you are talking about or has Rudy now counterclaimed against Koch?
Claude:
The original complaint. But it was the backing stuff, i.e. the exhibits, that I found particularly interesting. They outline the loans, the defaults, the security interests in wine, etc.
Unless he got an extension, Rudy should have filed an answer by now. Does anyone know?
The proof of service was filed 9/23, but no answer (or demurrer or whatever) on file.
The subject heading is misleading. It is Koch vs. Rudy, not the other way around, and you should change it.
Bruce
Is it written in a way that a college-educated, but not legalese-educated person can read and understand?
very straightforward.
Reading the complaint, I am surprised Koch did not also sue Acker.
I have been told that is a separate suit, but I haven’t seen it. I suspect that was first, Koch took discovery in that suit, and then filed this one.
Bruce
Koch sued Acker in 2008 (as I recall?). It was through discovery proceedings that Acker had to reveal the sources of some of Koch’s purchases.
Koch also has sued Zachys, as far as I know.
At least according to the complaint, Acker continued to sell wines after they knew or should have known that RK had on several occasions had sold or tried to sell fraudulent wine through them. Whether or not RK knew or should have known that wine he sold was fraudulent, doesn’t this say something troublesome about Acker?
Interesting stuff.
I have heard from more than a few folks privately that there is WAY more to this story than is in the complaint and accompanying exhibits and that the whole thing cuts very deep and wide…and not just the auction industry but the gray market of brokers.
Two things that struck me, of all the things I was told…and please be reminded that these are not facts, not confirmed, just peoples’ opinions who have emailed me: 1) some feel JK of Acker is a victim (perhaps greedy albeit) but a victim nonetheless and that if you really crunch the timeline of Acker’s involvement you’ll see that JK may have been a victim of his own avarice but didn’t otherwise do anything untoward; and 2) Rudy’s wines are in the pipeline all over the world and reputable persons, knowingly and unknowingly, are trying to unload them, and when knowingly doing so, some are doing it scrupulously (e.g., these came from Rudy) and sometimes not so much (e.g., this owc of 52 DRC RC that I’m brokering came directly from Madame Leroy’s cellars and here is your fake cert of auth).
I’m told that a big article in WS is forthcoming and will shed some light on some of this stuff. So stay tuned.
Lastly, Bruce, I’ll re-work the title of the thread to reverse parties.
Barry–Thanks for changing the title. And yes, there are a LOT of rumors floating around. I do want to be careful, though. RK certainly has the right to defend himself in the Koch suit, and he has the right to dispute any/all of the allegations against him.
I also have heard that a big article is coming out that will deal with many of these issues, so I’m waiting for that as well.
Bruce