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Mere hours before bidding was scheduled to end on the infamous DUI La-Z-Boy-Mobile, the motorized recliner suddenly vanished from the auction -- and TMZ has learned it's all because of a battle over its name.
With the price at $43,100 and rising, eBay received a demand letter from the most unlikely of parties -- the La-Z-Boy corporation itself. We're told La-Z-Boy played the trademark card due to the title of the auction "La-Z-Boy DWI Chair" and eBay was forced to pull the auction.
Here's the worst part: the chair was being auctioned off by the Proctor Minnesota Police Department and all profits were to benefit the taxpayers.
We're told La-Z-Boy "felt bad" about stopping the auction -- but hey, business is business.
Fear not motorized chair enthusiasts -- we've learned the cops plan on re-listing the chair in just a few hours.
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That sucks, that money could have helped a lot of people. Maybe they'll just change the name??
Ah, well, business IS business. If you let your trademark go E-Bay, who knows what else you will lose.
Use or lose it. That is the business world.
The chair company did the right thing.
If the cops want to auction it off, they need to change the name, simple, eh?
Oh yeah right.
Not one cent of that money would have gone to help any citizens of that town.
Right "benefit the taxpayers." More like go toward paying for the high salaries and awesome benefits of ticket giving, doughnut eatting government employees.
That is sad for the PD. But everyone knows that no one shops at La-Z-Boy anymore anyway. It's considered "white trash" furniture, at least where I live.
LMAO.
I (supposedly) live in the 12th most safe city in the USA and what do our cops do with loot like that??
One year they bought this million dollar "doomsday Winnebago" that is supposed to be used in terrorist attacks.
So what do they REALLY use this thing for??
LMAO.
The annual 4th of July parade.
And that's about it.
Maybe that will make the idiot who was about to pay more than some make a year in salary for that piece of s**t, think twice. If you have the money to pay that much, you could commission someone to make a much better version for half the price......If you have such a need for a motorized recliner?????
So what's up TMZ? Too damned lazy to post the link to the auction? F--- the taxpayers right?
Very bad PR for the La-A-Boy Company! I live in this part of MN and it is economically depressed! The citizens here could have used the help!
La Z Boy should be happy they were getting the free publicity for their sh1tty over-priced products! I speak from experience, sadly. And yea, I'm sure the tax payers were going to benefit from the $40+k in new "toys" the police were going to buy themselves all in the name of "public safety". They should donate the money to SADD or some group of the like.
Really. They just nixed all that free advertising for their brand....idiots.
...not to mention making La-Z-Boy look like a bunch of stick-up-the-butt, sue-happy A-holes.
Well then I guess no brand name items can ever be sold on EBay agian right? What a crock.. once you buy it it's yours, Lazy-Boy has no claim and the item is listed as it is because it IS a Lazy-Boy recliner. Grow a set E-Bay and tell Lazy Boy buy it or STFU.
