Florida man sues Beach Boys over stopped memorabilia auction

Published May 12th, 2006

A memorabilia collector is sueing The Beach Boys saying they wrongly stopped the sale of band memorabilia that he owns, including original music for hit tunes and contracts.

The lawsuit was filed by Roy Sciacca in U.S. District Court in Miami against Brother Records Inc., the band’s corporate entity, and seeks damages of $20 million or the right to sell the memorabilia.

Sciacca, of Tamarac, purchased boxes of the band’s memorabilia at liquidation sales in the 1980s in California. The band’s tour manager was present during the sales and approved everything that was sold, the lawsuit said.

When Sciacca wanted to sell some of the memorabilia at auction last year, the band said the material was stolen, halting the sale, the lawsuit said.

In January BRI sued Sciacca and the owner of a Los Angeles warehouse where the memorabilia was stored. That California lawsuit claims the photos, recordings and other band memorabilia were stolen from the warehouse for auction.

“I love The Beach Boys. It disgusts me how far this has gone and the lies and so forth,” Sciacca told The Associated Press Thursday.

Ed McPherson, the band’s attorney, said the case filed in Miami on Tuesday was a way to get publicity and that the case should be litigated in California. The band will continue to try to retrieve the items, he said.

“It’s unfortunate that there are people out there that take advantage of situations like this and people willing to buy this stuff.”