Deion Sanders sued over car bill

Athlete said Jesus told him what to pay, shop alleges; he denies it

07/14/2003

By TERRI LANGFORD / The Dallas Morning News

Deion Sanders can afford a $12 million spread, but for more than a year, he's been fighting a $4,265.57 car repair bill.

The owner of the repair shop said the former Dallas Cowboys cornerback wanted to pay only $1,500 of the bill, saying that Jesus had informed him that was all he needed to pay.

"It's the 'Praise Jesus' discount," said Ed Edson, attorney for Phil Compton, the owner of the car repair business, who has been trying to collect the bill from Mr. Sanders since 2001.

Mr. Sanders, through court filings, says the allegations are untrue. His attorney, Edmund Gomez, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

On Monday, the suit goes to trial before state District Judge Joe Cox in Dallas County civil court.

The dispute began when Mr. Compton, owner of Magrathea Inc., tried to deliver the repaired 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible to the CBS sportscaster's home in Plano on Nov. 5, 2001.

A representative for Mr. Sanders, Anthony Montoya, had contacted Mr. Compton and told him the vehicle need to be towed to his shop for repairs. The car had been repaired before by Mr. Compton.

Mr. Compton's lawsuit states that he and his mechanics installed a new radiator and thermostat, flushed the engine, repaired the car's electrical system and various gauges, replaced the starter motor, removed contaminated fuel and rebuilt the carburetor. Magrathea mechanics had replaced gaskets and hoses.

The car was test-driven, detailed and filled up with gas. Total labor: 33.25 hours. A $75 towing fee was assessed. More than $400 of Mr. Compton's money was applied to get the car in working order.

Work reportedly OK'd

All of the repairs were done at the request of Mr. Sanders and approved by Mr. Montoya, according to the lawsuit.
The car was taken to Mr. Sanders' home, where he was living at the time. Mr. Compton said that he knocked on the door and that Pilar Sanders, the former Cowboy's wife, "answered the door, took the keys and invoices, started the car to make sure it was working and went back into the locked house, refusing to return the keys or invoices."

The suit said Mr. Sanders' bodyguards and housekeepers then moved their cars in front of and behind the Lincoln so that it couldn't be towed back to the garage.

'It was like a sermon'

Then Mr. Sanders drove up. He informed Mr. Compton he wasn't going to pay the invoice amount, the suit alleges. Instead, Mr. Compton said Mr. Sanders handed him a $1,500 check and said: "Praise Jesus ... I follow what in my heart I'm told to pay."
Mr. Compton added, "I mean, there's so much of it, it was like a sermon. I just can't remember all of it."

In his 20 years of repairing cars for what he said are "the best families in Dallas," Mr. Compton says he's been left holding the bill only twice before.

E-mail tlangford@

Deion Sanders is an idiot. Fools like Deion give Jesus a bad name. I should add that our Prince doesn't like to pay his bills either. Remember when Prince's cane maker sued him for $2,000 (or something like that) because Prince refused to pay the bill. There is just something about rich people where they don't understand that these people NEED and EARNED the money.


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[This message was edited Mon Jul 14 6:44:55 PDT 2003 by lovemachine]

lovemachine said:

Prince has allegedly stiffed a lot of people...

oh fer fucks sake. who does this guy think he is anyway???
hes going to have to pay anyway..why not just get it over with?

Only in America !!

man, rich people are a trip! they haave all the money in the world and are still worried about paying for something...maybe one day i'll be rich and then i'll understand. but i hope not (to undertsand, see...cuz i wanna be rich).

Wait, everybody!

I hear a voice.

Shhh.

Oh, my . . . it's Jesus Christ!

What brings you here, Jesus?

Yeah, I read the Deion thing, too.

You're planning to open up a six-pack of Ecclesiastical Whup-Ass on Deion?!

Wow! Thank you, Jesus. You've finally given me a reason to believe!

what's that jesus? people who claim you tell them to do things are delusional? i agree.

no, it's true! jesus told me so!

"jesus told me to edit this" edit
[This message was edited Mon Jul 14 8:53:45 PDT 2003 by cborgman]

OneMoJam said:

Fhunkin said:

Not only here, Prince didn't pay Italian concert promoters.

Maybe the wrong forum, but anyway as an aside, I've always found the mixture of religion and athletics to be very humorous. You know, praising dog for one's athletic prowess, praying for victory, etc. I mean, what's a dog supposed to do? Grant you victory even as your opponents pray for the same thing? Does dog take sides? Pretty silly stuff.

As far as this story goes, we're very obviously getting only one side of it. I'm sensing a dispute that developed between Sanders and the repair shop long before the car was brought back. I'm sure that's why they're going to court. The religious babble is a distraction. The real dispute will be revealed in trial.

Face it, most rich people pay their bills faithfully. In fact, I'm willing to bet they pay more often than those with fewer resources (as a small business owner, it has certainly been true for me). Yet I'm also sure the rich get a little tired of being taken advantage of by those providing services or goods to them. It cuts both ways.

IceNine said:

Just an attempt by the media to discredit and mock another minority athlete. Imagine if there was a legitimate dispute as to what work was done and Deon said that he is going to pay what he thinks is right in his heart and according to his faith and that he has prayed on the matter and he feels that $1,500 was fair. Is that so crazy? A lot of people don't see the false reflection that is portrayed by the media of minorities, but stories like this make that clear.

donnyenglish said:

I am almost 100% certain that this has nothing to do with his being a minority at all.

IceNine said:

it's more that he is in the majority. the religious nuts majority.

donnyenglish said:

wtf???

donnyenglish said:

Oh puh-leeeze! What does him being a minority have to do with anything? He's a rich MF who thinks he doesn't have to pay his bills, and that has nothing to do with his skin color! In fact, if he were the average minority, he wouldn't have any power to fight this claim in court, since his ass would probably be broke. I've never had the luxury of paying what I thought was right when it comes to car repairs, regardless of my religious convictions. The plain fact is, this guy has more money than common sense. I hardly think this is some media plot to "mock and discredit" a minority athlete (and, it should be noted, he's not a minority in his profession).

maybe it was jesus that told George W. Bush that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction

Just pay the phuckin bill dude.

I should also add that, as a Christian, I'm a little peeved that Deon is using his religion as a justification for behaving like a spoiled, rich brat. In fact, I'm real tired of people using God as their excuse for doing whatever the hell they want. I think there is a very special corner of hell reserved for those who use God's name for their own ends. I'm not judging Deon, and saying he's hellbound or anything, just that his behaviour is NOT cool, and he really should be more reponsible.

cborgman said:

Personally, I think Georgie has a hotline to Satan!!

donnyenglish said:

Hmm interesting that Jesus can take a break battling the forces of evil to tell Deion not to pay his car note. Soounds like he was listening to Jesus all right.

Big Baby Jesus.


[This message was edited Mon Jul 14 19:44:24 PDT 2003 by NovaAngel]

NovaAngel said:

For all of you wondering what a false reflection is and for those of you who thought I was insane for my post, please read the below. I read all of your comments and they were typical of people who don't realize how the media portrays minorities. Let's see how good of a job the media does cleaning up their false reporting now that Deon's name is cleared.





Judge rules in favor of Deion Sanders
DALLAS (AP) — A judge ruled Monday in favor of Deion Sanders in a lawsuit over repairs made to his vintage 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible, saying the former Dallas Cowboy paid the full amount he had authorized for the work. The owner of the repair shop had sued Sanders, saying the former All-Pro cornerback wanted to pay only $1,500 of the $4,265.57 bill after Jesus had informed him that was all he needed to pay.

Deion Sanders (left) says he refused full payment for work on a 1961 Lincoln Continental on principle.
By Jeff Neira, CBS file

Ed Edson, an attorney for business owner Phil Compton said he had been trying to collect from Sanders since 2001.

According to papers filed in the lawsuit, Anthony Montoya, a representative for Sanders, had contacted Compton and told him the convertible needed to be towed to his shop for repairs. The car had been repaired before by Compton.

The lawsuit stated that he and his mechanics installed a new radiator and thermostat, flushed the engine, repaired the car's electrical system and gauges, replaced the starter motor, removed contaminated fuel and rebuilt the carburetor. Mechanics for Magrathea Inc., Compton's company, had replaced gaskets and hoses.

Sanders had approved and Montoya had approved all the repairs, according to the lawsuit. But when the car was returned to the CBS sportscaster's home in Plano on Nov. 5, 2001, Compton said Pilar Sanders, the former Cowboy's wife, "answered the door, took the keys and invoices, started the car to make sure it was working and went back into the locked house, refusing to return the keys or invoices."

Sanders' bodyguards and housekeepers then moved their cars in front of and behind the Lincoln so that it couldn't be towed back to the garage, the lawsuit stated.

When Sanders drove up, he refused to pay the invoice amount, handing Compton a $1,500 check and saying, "Praise Jesus ... I follow what in my heart I'm told to pay."

During the one-day trial, a representative for Sanders testified in front of State District Judge Joe Cox that Sanders told Compton there was a $1,500 ceiling on the cost of repairs.

"I'm not hurting for money. And let's be honest. A $4,000 bill, I could have written a check a long time ago," Sanders said. "But it's the principle. I'm tired of getting ripped off."

donnyenglish said:

I believe that the media can certainly sway public opinion either positively or negatively. Minorities are not only not exempt from this but we also have to contend with the preexisting stereotypes that must also be taken into consideration as it relates to media attention. I agree with you on this point.

However, I am also constantly puzzled by the behavior of some minority athletes or entertainers. While the media often oversensationalizes or unfairly judges minorities in these positions the fact remains that too often these same people refuse to take responsibility for their often embarrassing behaviors or actions. .

As unfair as it may sound, I believe that people want to see athletes or other people in similar positions "fall from grace" so to speak. I often want to ask these athletes who get arrested for drug or handgun possession, assault, rape, bribery etc., "If you know the media is going to skewer you or make you look like a jackass, why do you give them ammunition and continue to act like one?" It doesn't make sense.

Amen. I believe him.

IceNine said:

ICENINE RIGHT

THIS TIME IT ABOUT GOD

PLUS HE NOT TOO BRIGHT

IT NOT ABOUT BLACK AT ALL

EITHER WAY

DONNYENGLISH NEED TO GET IN POLITIC FORUM RIGHT NOW!

donnyenglish said:

his being justified in not paying is not the same as him being a complete ass. Granted, the media only publicized the part that made him look foolish...but that part was true! Deion made himself look like an ass, the media only reported it.

I may be opening a sensitive topic here, but it's no different than the media only showing portions of the Rodney King tape where he was getting his ass beaten down, but never the beginning where he attacked the police...repeatedly.

the bias has nothing to do with race. the media is biased towards only one entity: the media, and with what angle makes the news media more captivating.

TheMax said:

This is quite possible too... but he shouldn't have used the Jesus thing. There is a VERY real possibility that the business was trying to screw him, as they might have thought that it would be overlooked by a guy who has tens of millions of dollars.

IceNine said:

I just don't see what is wrong with saying that I prayed on this and god told me that this is the right thing to do. But, the media has distorted this story to make you'll believe the guy is crazy.

donnyenglish said:

because it is insulting to say despite all the ills in the world that continue to exist, JC would rather assist Deion in his car repair troubles than help feed a starving child or any other atrocity.

Deion didn't say "I" didn't want to pay the bill because it was unfair, he said Jesus helped him come to that conclusion. Jesus had nothing to do with it, Deion made his own mind up, plain and simple, than attempted to deflect the responsibility of the decision from him to the Ol'Mighty in the sky, so he wouldn't look like the jerk. but it backfired because he came off as a bigger ass.

Deion makes his own mind up, not Jesus, especially in matters as unimportant as this.