Flora man is litigant on TV court show
By Jennifer Archibald Staff writer

Alan Turner of Flora was a litigant on a recent episode of the TV show, "The People's Court."

He was the defendant in a case involving a six-foot Elvis statue that he was selling on eBay.

The plaintiff, Barbara Delpiano of Syracuse, N.Y., had bought the statue, but didn't have it in her possession, and wanted her money back. She was suing for $550.

Turner told the Comet last week that some time ago, she had told him she wanted to call off the deal, but he said he wouldn't give her the money back unless he was told to do so by a judge.

Not long after that, he got a call, asking if he wanted to appear on "The People's Court." He said the caller, from the TV show, made him an offer he couldn't refuse, and the next day he was on a plane to New York.

The segment involving Turner aired Feb. 6. The dispute centered around the pickup/delivery of the statue.

The plaintiff said she originally agreed to come to Flora and pick it up. Then she changed her mind. Turner looked into shipping costs, which would have to be borne by the purchaser, and he found out it would cost $1,000.

Turner said at one point he told her that he and his son would take a road trip to N.Y. and deliver the statue. Time passed and he saw that the trip wasn't going to work out. That's when she wanted out of the deal and wanted her money back.

In the meantime, Turner said the stage that the statue was on fell apart, but the collectible Elvis and accompanying microphone stand were still intact.

Judge Marilyn Milian ruled that a deal was a deal. In the original deal, the plaintiff had paid for the Elvis and agreed to pick it up. The judge said any subsequent offer by Turner to deliver was not binding. He didn't have to deliver it, he decided not to, and that was OK.

She awarded $100 to the plaintiff because of the broken stage. She also stipulated that the plaintiff pick up the Elvis statue within three weeks.

After the show aired, Turner told the Comet that although a partial judgment was awarded to the plaintiff, he felt that he won, all the way around.

He said while the court cases and rulings on "The People's Court" are real, the TV part of it is something else. He said as a litigant on a TV show, he was paid for his time, he got a free trip to New York, was served food, and he didn't even have to pay the $100 that was awarded to the plaintiff. It was paid for him. Moreover, since the plaintiff still hasn't picked up the statue (well beyond the required three weeks from the court date), Turner said he can sell it again on eBay.

He said this time, along with the statue, he will offer a tape of the TV court show, along with "inside information" about how the show works.

"People like to buy things that have a story behind them," he said.

Turner revealed that the "courtroom" is really just a set, on the seventh floor, and is not as big as it appears. He said a lot is edited out of what really takes place.

He said he first posted the statue at $500. When Delpiano wanted it so bad, he told her for $650, he would take it off eBay, and hold it for three months. He said she paid the money over a period of time. But then she didn't pick the statue up, and later, wanted her money back. When he didn't agree, she called "The People's Court."

He didn't know until he appeared on the show that she entertains as an Elvis impersonator.

Delpiano said in court that in her early dealings with Turner, he was "sweet as pie." As a token of "no hard feelings," Turner gave the plaintiff a miniature Elvis statue. Somehow, in trying to give Turner a hug, she dropped the statue and it broke. So much for trying to patch things up.