Auction house sues Rosa Parks’ ex-lawyer over her $10M estate
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Civil rights leader Rose Parks (left) sits in her Detroit home with her lawyer, Gregory Reed on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 1994, during a news conference. Photo: AP
A New York auction house is suing Rosa Parks’ former lawyer, saying he screwed up the sale of her estimated $10 million estate, costing it nearly a million bucks in lost fees and expenses.
Guernsey’s says in its Manhattan suit that Detroit lawyer Gregory Reed led it to believe “he had the ability to secure the assignment of the estate of Rosa Parks for auction” after the civil-rights icon died in 2005 at age 92.
Reed had previously represented Parks in a lawsuit against the rapper Outkast.
But Parks’ heirs balked at Reed’s claim and then launched into a series of demands to Guernsey’s including that the sale be private and to a single buyer, according to the suit.
Billionaire Warren Buffet’s son, Howard, purchased the collection last month for a bargain $4.5 million.
He said he plans to donate the items to a museum.
Guerney’s says it could have gotten a lot more in fees from individual sales at a public auction.
“Unlike an auction, which would have had a discrete amount of time for preparation, then be conducted and be over, it took Guerney’s seven years, countless work hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars, all of which would have been avoided by an auction, to arrange the private sale the property,” the suit says.
It adds that Reed is still demanding a cut from the sale.
Reed said the case suit stemmed from a “misunderstanding” and was resolved. He said the complaint “grossly mischaracterized” his effort to protect Parks’ legacy. He wanted the civil rights giant’s estate to “be preserved for mankind and not” auctioned off.
Guernsey’s says in its Manhattan suit that Detroit lawyer Gregory Reed led it to believe “he had the ability to secure the assignment of the estate of Rosa Parks for auction” after the civil-rights icon died in 2005 at age 92.
Reed had previously represented Parks in a lawsuit against the rapper Outkast.
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Included in Parks’ historic treasure trove were her Congressional Gold Medal and a postcard from Martin Luther King Jr.
Rosa Parks’ Presidential Medal of Freedom (left) and her Congressional Gold MedalPhoto: AP
But Parks’ heirs balked at Reed’s claim and then launched into a series of demands to Guernsey’s including that the sale be private and to a single buyer, according to the suit.
Billionaire Warren Buffet’s son, Howard, purchased the collection last month for a bargain $4.5 million.
He said he plans to donate the items to a museum.
Guerney’s says it could have gotten a lot more in fees from individual sales at a public auction.
“Unlike an auction, which would have had a discrete amount of time for preparation, then be conducted and be over, it took Guerney’s seven years, countless work hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars, all of which would have been avoided by an auction, to arrange the private sale the property,” the suit says.
It adds that Reed is still demanding a cut from the sale.
Reed said the case suit stemmed from a “misunderstanding” and was resolved. He said the complaint “grossly mischaracterized” his effort to protect Parks’ legacy. He wanted the civil rights giant’s estate to “be preserved for mankind and not” auctioned off.
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