Capitol Records Sues For Beatles Plaques Spokane Collector Insists Pair Of Awards Were Obtained Legally

The boys in the Yellow Submarine have fired a torpedo at one of their biggest fans - Thomas J. Meenach III of Spokane.

Meenach is being sued in federal court by Capitol Records, a Hollywood-based company that represents the Beatles.

Yes, those Beatles - the band that gave the world “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “Yesterday,” “Hey, Jude” and dozens of other rock ‘n’ roll classics.

Capitol claims Meenach - an internationally known trader in Fab Four collectibles - is trying to sell two illegally obtained award plaques that rightfully belong to Paul McCartney and the estate of the late John Lennon.

The 46-year-old real estate broker and Spokane native calls the lawsuit “ludicrous.”

Meenach said the Beatles are using him to make a point about their licensed merchandise, the bootleg trading of which is a multimillion-dollar worldwide industry.

“They’re really just trying to save face,” he said during an interview in his South Hill house, where a picture of McCartney is prominently displayed in the living room.

Regardless, Capitol and the Beatles want the plaques back as well as unspecified monetary damages, according to the eight-page complaint filed Dec. 17.

“And they want to know how he got them,” said Steven Crumb, a Spokane lawyer hired by Capitol for the federal lawsuit.

The plaques were produced earlier this year to commemorate the fact that two recent Beatles releases - 1994’s “Live at the BBC” and last year’s “The Beatles The Anthology Vol. 1”- achieved “platinum” status.

A recording is considered to have gone platinum when a million copies are sold.

The awards were to be presented to McCartney and Lennon’s estate, Capitol officials said in the lawsuit. But sometime between their creation and the presentation, the awards disappeared from Capitol’s offices.

Meenach said he doesn’t know or care how the record company lost the awards. He theorizes a disgruntled Capitol executive sold them to a private collector.

The grandson of T.J. Meenach - for whom the bridge over the Spokane River near Spokane Falls Community College is named - said he bought the two plaques for cash at a swap meet in Seattle several months ago. He didn’t say how much he paid.

It’s not unusual for Meenach to seek out and buy hard-to-get mop head mementos. He’s had a long love affair with the Beatles.

He started following the band as a teenager and often skipped lunch at Lewis and Clark High School to go to a nearby grocery store to buy the latest Beatles fan magazine.

Meenach and his former wife, Betsy, built a profitable Beatles memorabilia business in the 1970s, earning enough money for the down payment on a house.

In 1985, their collection of albums and artifacts was considered one of the 10 or 12 largest in the world.

Today, Meenach is embroiled in a custody battle with a former girlfriend for their 7-month-old son, Derek.

When attorney’s fees started mounting this summer, he decided to sell most of his Beatles collection, including the newly acquired plaques, to raise money.

Meenach said he contacted Sotheby’s of New York and asked if the famous auction house would handle the sale.

Sotheby’s officials said yes and issued a catalog advertising much of the merchandise, including the disputed plaques.

In June, a Capitol official browsing the catalog saw the plaques. The company immediately called Sotheby’s and found out who owned the merchandise.

McCartney’s attorney, John L. Eastman of New York, sent a letter to the auction house demanding that his client’s plaque and another item listed in the catalog be withdrawn.

“Our client asserts that these items are his property, and we are advised that he neither sold them nor otherwise relinquished his property or other rights therein,” Eastman wrote in the letter.

Capitol officials then contacted Meenach and demanded the return of the plaques. He refused, according to the suit, and said he has “good title” to the plaques.

“Defendants’ plan to sell, auction or distribute the award plaques is an effort to sell stolen property …,” the suit states.

Meenach said he asked the record company to show proof that the awards were stolen. “I said, ‘If it’s yours, show me.’ These awards are everywhere. It’s not unusual to find these awards out there,” he said.

Meenach said he then offered to sell the plaques back to Capitol for $7,000. “That’s what Sotheby’s said they were worth,” he said.

Capitol officials said they’d give him only what he paid for them. Meenach ignored that offer, and the lawsuit resulted.

Meenach is fatalistic about his chances of beating the Beatles.

“Considering the Beatles made $150 million last year, they can take this as far as they want and as long as they want,” he said.

Meenach said he’ll probably try to reach an out-of-court settlement where Capitol buys the plaques for a reasonable price and may release them for the original purchase price.

“If they won’t buy them, I can’t afford to fight them,” he said.

In the meantime, he’s not planning to forsake his favorite band. He’s still a Fab Four fanatic.

“This is just business on their part,” Meenach said. “It doesn’t affect how I feel about the music or anything like that.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo