Court rules that singer must pay fan who returned his lost laptop.
Ryan Leslie has been forced to keep his word by a jury of his peers. The music producer-singer-songwriter lost a lawsuit yesterday over whether or not he is required to pay a $1 million reward he famously promised for the return of his stolen laptop in 2010.
Jurors in New York found unanimously that Leslie must pay the hefty sum to the German Armin Augstein, 54, who found the laptop while walking his dog and turned it over to police. Augstein, who still lives in Germany, flew to New York to testify against Leslie.
"No one forced him to make an offer of so much money for a finder’s fee," Augstein told the New York Post. "It seems like he believes that that which he promised, he doesn’t have to live up to."
In his defense, Leslie suggested that Augstein may have been involved with the people who stole the laptop. He also claimed that he was unable to retrieve valuable multi-track recordings from the hard drive. In the end, however, the jury sided with the plaintiff's contention that such complaints were not valid.
On Twitter, Leslie showed signs of accepting the hit to his ego... and wallet.
"Ain't no way to get around ups & downs," he wrote. "Jury of my peers rules for the plaintiff."
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(Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
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