Rochester doc's lawsuit over car auction drags toward third year

Dr. Terry Bennett's Lancia Lambda Spyder as seen in a family Christmas photo from several years ago. (Courtesy photos)

DOVER - A nearly two-year lawsuit pursued by a locally renowned doctor alleging contract fraud and misrepresentation in connection with the 2012 auction of many of his most prized automobiles continues on Tuesday in Strafford County Superior Court.

Dr. Terry Bennett, who runs the Quick Care Clinic on South Main Street in Rochester is seeking $1.6 million in damages against Auctions America by RM, Inc. in a bench trial presided over by Strafford County Superior Court Judge Mark E. Howard.

Bennett, a well-known collector of classic cars, is most infuriated by what he alleges was slipshod advertising and advance work regarding the auctioneering company's lack of marketing leading up to the auction, which garnered far less than Bennett had expected.

The 1952 BMW 328, formerly owned by Dr. Terry Bennett sold below market value, he says.

Two of his most prized vehicles didn't even garner a single bid at the auction, then went to prebid offers that were far below retail value, Bennett said.

One was a custom made 1952 BMW 328 base special, built by Honore Wagner from Luxembourg.

"It was called a Wagner Special," Bennett said, adding it should've fetched $1.2 million but instead went in prebid back to a member of the Wagner family who got it for less than $200,000,

The other was a 1925 Lancia Lambda with a coach built by Casaro.

Bennett said it should have drawn upwards of $600,000, adding a recent rusted "barnfind" sold for $200,000.

"My (Lancia) was rebuilt, with a rebuilt engine, repainted and brought less than $200,000" he fumed. "It was bought (by prebid) by a Carsaro enthusiast back in Italy."

"No one from the auction house ever explained how this happened," he said. "We are now exploring in court how it did."

On Sunday Bennett went as far as saying the auctioneering company "badmouthed" two of his most cherished vehicles.

During earlier testimony in the case last fall, the now 79-year-old Bennett testified that in the summer of 2012 doctors diagnosed him with cancer and told him he had 90 days to live, so he wanted to quickly find an auctions company that could service a broad range of collectibles, from vintage race and fancy cars, to motorcycles and bicycles to stained glass and antique signs.

When a friend pointed him to RM Auctions, he said he went to one of their events and was very impressed.

He said he discussed RM doing his auction and was pleased with what they said, noting that he wanted to quickly liquidate much of his estate to help his family expecting his death was imminent.

"I was desperate and happy with what they said," he testified

Then he said he was told Auctions American - not RM - would be doing the auction but the service would be the same.

"I was lulled into a sense of security," he said.

However, as the Sept. 21-22, 2012, auction drew near he realized the advertising was subpar and not attracting world-class collectors that he felt his items deserved to get the best price.

The recurring argument featured at trial by his attorney, Peter McGrath of Concord, was that Auctions America didn't provide the adequate provenance, or lineage, of his collectible cars to draw the high rollers that would produce a better bottom line.

The auctions were all absolute, meaning there was no minimum amount required.

To buttress their argument, McGrath in October produced an advertisement from a similar auction Bennett had in 1991 in which he raked in some $4.5 million the majority of which went to his alma mater, Harvard Medical School, to help defray tuition costs for low-income students.

Under questioning from McGrath, Bennett complained that unlike the 1991 auction, the advertised auction items in 2012 were, "mislabeled, inaccurate and incomplete."

Meanwhile, the attorney representing Auctions America, Nathan R Fennessy, brought out during questioning of Russell Abbott, the lead state investigator in the case, that the state's own Board of Auctioneers agreed to make no finding over Bennett's claims of incompetence.

The bench trial continues on Tuesday in Strafford County Superior Court.

Bennett formerly practiced medicine in Saudi Arabia where decades ago he was a personal physician for members of the Bin Laden clan in which Osama Bin Laden was a member as well as many other wealthy sheiks and oil tycoons. At the time he was treating the Bin Laden family they were part of one of the biggest construction companies in the Mideast.