Dylan Memorabilia/Peter McKenzie Lawsuit Settled

As readers of this blog and followers of the Bob Dylan collecting scene may know, in November 2007 I filed a lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court against Peter McKenzie, accusing him of fraud, breach of contract and unjust enrichment. The suit came about because of questions about the authenticity of some signed and inscribed Bob Dylan items McKenzie had sold me (this is all a matter of public record; see the posting directly below for the complete story.)

It is my great pleasure to report that after 15 months of forensic examinations, court proceedings and legal haggling, the lawsuit has been settled. Unfortunately I’m legally bound to not disclose the specific terms of the settlement, much as I’d like to. But I can say that I’m extremely pleased with the outcome of the suit. As a longtime collector and a dealer, I felt it very important to pursue this despite the high cost of doing so, in terms of dollars, aggravation and time spent.

I’d like to sincerely thank the many people who helped bring this to a satisfying resolution, particularly Dylan manuscript expert George Hecksher, collector Barry Ollman, Jasen Emmons, curatorial director of the Experience Music Project (and curator of the museum exhibition “Bob Dylan’s American Journey”,) Jeff Rosen from the Dylan office, my attorney Mike Gibson, and certified forensics examiner Jim Blanco.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating--if you’re buying high-end collectibles, do your research, know who you’re buying from, and most importantly, insist on a guarantee of authenticity with no time limit. And remember, if it seems too good to be true, it almost always is.

As of the time of this writing, Reed Orenstein’s lawsuit against Peter McKenzie (see below) is still active.

Check back as we’ll be writing more about issues of authenticity, what a real forensic document examiner does, why most certificates of authenticity are worthless (even so-called forensic ones--more on that later,) and how to protect yourself when buying autographs and memorabilia.

In the future, I’ll be writing much more regularly too.

Jeff Gold
November 19, 2008

And remember, we're always interested in buying your music collectibles too !