Rocker Steve Miller‘s a joker, backing out of buying a $6.7 million mansion in Dutchess County at the last minute and leaving the owner in a lurch, a new Manhattan federal lawsuit says.
The “Fly Like an Eagle” and “Joker” singer had ponied up a $670,000 down payment to buy the Lagrangeville home of former Toys “R” Us CEO John Eyler — but reneged on the eve of the closing in December after an appraisal “greatly undervalued” the house at $4.3 million, the suit says.
(realtor.com)
Miller claimed that he couldn’t get approved for a mortgage because of the appraisal, which suggested he was about to overpay for the home by $2.4 million.
Eyler argues their sale contract explicitly states “that sale is not contingent upon a satisfactory appraisal due to the unique quality style of the improvements, the value of the infrastructure and the large size of the parcel,” court papers say.
Eyler, 69, who also served as CEO of FAO Schwarz, and his wife, Gail, now say they’re entitled to keep Miller’s hefty down payment due to breach of contract.
Eyler’s three-bed, five-bath home at 132 Seeley Road sits on more than 87 acres and has a pond, waterfall, pool, guest house and views of the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains.
The couple says Miller doesn’t need a mortgage because he’s worth $40 million and notes that his Steve Miller Band is headed on tour this spring.
The Eylers also claim the appraisal was rushed and “seriously flawed.”
(realtor.com)
They’re are suing 132 Seeley Road LLC, which was formed by Miller and his wife Janice to purchase the estate.
Singer-guitarist Miller, 73, made headlines last year when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — and ripped the music industry in an expletive-laced tirade.
“This whole industry f—-g sucks, and this little get-together you guys have here is like a private boys’ club, and it’s a bunch of jackasses and jerks and f—-g gangsters and crooks who’ve f—-g stolen everything from a f—ing artist,” Miller railed to Rolling Stone.
Neither Miller nor his rep could be immediately reached.