Auction House Responds To Claims By Tom Petty's Family

An auction house in Boston has responded to accusations that it is selling stolen articles of clothing that belonged to the late Tom Petty.

RR Auction, in a statement from lawyer Mark S. Zaid, said it is cooperating with Petty’s family. “We take theft allegations such as these very seriously,” he said. “We have never failed to reach an amicable resolution when on the rare occasion items presented by our consignors turned out to have provenance concerns.

“We continue to diligently investigate this situation and have requested the Petty family to cooperate with us as well.”

Zaid added that the RR Auction takes seriously “any defamatory allegations against our company, which has developed a stellar reputation over the last half-a-century of auctions.”

The company is promoting a June 22nd auction of more than 40 items, including T-shirts, jackets, boots and hats that it said belonged to the late rock star. It acquired the collection after Petty’s first wife Jane lost their home to foreclosure in 2015 and contractors disposed of the contents.

According to RR Auction, its consignor purchased the clothing in February.

But, on Wednesday, Petty’s family issued a statement alleging RR Auction was “offering stolen Tom Petty memorabilia with a completely false provenance inaccurate to fact and in complete denial of clear evidence they have been presented.”

The family said the items are “clearly stolen, there is no other word for it.” They vowed to take legal action to retrieve the collection.

“These items have irreplaceable sentimental and educational value for the family and legacy of Tom Petty and we look forward to their safe return,” read the statement.

Petty died in 2017 at 66 of an accidental drug overdose.