John Mayer sues watch broker over fake Rolex watches

Los Angeles: Singer John Mayer is suing a watch broker for USD 700,000 for allegedly getting sold Rolex watches containing fake parts. The 36-year-old singer filed a lawsuit against Robert Maron, the watch dealer to the stars who sold him USD 5,000,000 worth of timepieces. Mayer claims seven of them were designated as "counterfeit" by Rolex,reportedly. According to the complaint, filed in California Superior Court, Maron, 54, is identified as a broker and expert on "important" watches -- primarily by Rolex and Patek Philippe -- who sold items to Mayer in 2007. According to the complaint, Maron became a "close and trusted personal friend," to Mayer over the years. In 2010, Mayer sent one of the Rolexes to Rolex for servicing, at which point he was informed by the Swiss company that the watch he had sent them "was not authentic in all respects." Mayer confronted Maron at the time, and Maron apologetically gave a refund and the singer then bought more watches from Maron for approximately USD 5,000,000. Then, in 2011, Mayer learned another Rolex watch sold to him by Maron contained a bezel and dial that was not authentic, rendering it counterfeit, the suit alleges. The lawsuit states that at least seven watches sold to Mayer by Maron were allegedly counterfeit. Mayer is seeking USD 656,000 -- the purchase price paid for the seven watches -- plus interest and damages for five causes of action, including fraud, breach of oral contract and negligent misrepresentation. Maron attorney, however, has rubbished the lawsuit as "meritless".