Seized Motorized La-Z-Boy Nets Police Over $10,000

A Minnesota man caught driving a recliner (yes, you read that right) under the influence has seen his beloved chair sold at auction for a surprising sum.

Minnesota's Dennis LeRoy Anderson built the chair, which when it was first unveiled boasted an estimated retail value of over $43,000. Why? Because the rocket-on-wheels featured not only a comfy seat, but nitrous oxide boosters, stereo, working headlights, "sport" steering (right between the legs), six-speed gear shift, and rear-view mirrors. Oh, and cup holders, of course. (Source: myfoxdetroit.com)

The chair is powered by a single lawnmower engine, but given its fairly light weight -- it still provides enough 'oomph' to make the little ride zoom along quite quickly.

Summer Spin Ends in Disaster

Unfortunately, Anderson's ride isn't street legal. However, that didn't stop its owner from taking the modified La-Z-Boy for a spin back in August, 2008. That might not have been such a big deal had Anderson been sober -- or even close to sober -- and had he been able to avoid slamming his hot ride into the back of a parked vehicle.

The La-Z-Boy, now dubbed the "DWI chair" was subsequently seized by Proctor, Minnesota police. In an attempt to get some taxpayer money back, Proctor Police Chief Walter Wobig put the chair on eBay for auction, expecting the chair would only reap about $2,000, or, at best, maybe $3,000.

$43,700 Bid Spoiled by La-Z-Boy

Thanks to international media attention, the chair, which officially sold last Thursday, actually fetched far more than Proctor police estimated -- an impressive $10,099.99.

Regrettably, Proctor police missed out on an even more incredible return on the chair, thanks to some poor phrasing. Because the item was listed as a "La-Z-Boy styled chair", the La-Z-Boy company deemed this to be an infringement on their name and therefore disputed, and later cancelled the auction -- negating an astounding final bid of $43,700. It was on the second re-listing with a more proper name that a $10,099.99 bid was the winner. (Source: proctormn.com)

Proctor police are, understandably, angry with eBay's decision to cancel the original auction, and believe it'll be Proctor taxpayers who lose out.

In case you're wondering, 48 bidders placed 96 bids during the original auction and over the course of the repeat another 41 bidders placed 64 bids. Literally hundreds of thousands of people watched the auction on both occasions.