Memo to all you big talking musicians out there: if you’re going to offer lavish rewards for the safe return of your stolen property, you’d better be prepared to pay up. That’s what Ryan Leslie learned the hard way.
In 2010 Leslie posted a video to YouTube offering $1-million for the safe return of his stolen laptop and external hard drive, both of which he says contained tracks that hadn’t been released yet. When a German man found the computer while walking his dog, he looked forward to cashing in for its return, but Leslie backed out of the reward promise. So the German man sued him.
Reports the New York Post:
Leslie, 34, sat stone-faced as the unanimous verdict was announced after just over three hours of deliberations.
Leslie — who had earlier joked he would either “be writing checks or buying Maseratis” — insisted afterward, “I’m not disappointed” and said he would consider an appeal.
…
“No one forced him to make an offer of so much money for a finder’s fee,” Augstein (the German plaintiff) said. “It seems like he believes that that which he promised, he doesn’t have to live up to.”
Here’s hoping this German dude uses the money the court awarded him to start a music career based solely around making Ryan Leslie diss tracks. That would be a great beef, I think.
(Pic via Wikipedia)
