Embattled Kentucky mayor faces another legal battle. This time it’s from Lamborghini.
London Mayor Randall Weddle, already facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in delinquent credit card debt, could lose a $280,000 luxury sports car he owns, according to new court documents.
Lamborghini Financial Services Inc., the captive leasing and lending arm of Italian auto manufacturer Lamborghini, filed suit against the embattled Southeastern Kentucky mayor this week seeking a court order to repossess his 2019 used Lamborghini Urus.
Weddle still owes more than $60,000 on a loan he took out to purchase the vehicle from a Florida dealer in 2022 and has failed to continue making required payments, according to court documents.
In a motion and affidavit Lamborghini Financial Services filed in Laurel Circuit Court, the company’s attempts to demand payment and repossess the vehicle have been unsuccessful. Weddle has “wrongfully detained” the car because he has failed to pay, the company claims.
The financial service company wants the court to issue a writ of possession to surrender or seize the vehicle, force Weddle to pay the remaining $60,044.56 balance and cover Lamborghini Financial Services’ attorneys’ fees.
It’s a bold step for an auto lender to take in Kentucky, since repossession agencies can typically seize cars in the state without advance notice. Agents, however, are barred from using physical force, threats or breaking into enclosed spaces to repossess property. Weddle’s Lamborghini is believed to be parked “within a private place which may have to be entered to take possession of said property,” according to the motion for writ of possession.
If the court rules in the auto lender’s favor and Weddle doesn’t voluntarily hand over the vehicle himself, the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office could be authorized to seize the car.
Unlike repo agents, deputies can legally enter enclosed private property to reclaim a car. In some cases, intentionally hiding a vehicle to prevent repossession can rise to the level of criminal behavior, as it is considered a form of defrauding creditors in Kentucky.
The present-day wholesale or auction value of the car is estimated at $160,125. Lamborghini Financial Services said the mayor has failed to make required $3,833.04 monthly payments under the lease agreement since Feb. 16.
The repossession effort highlights deepening financial trouble for the mayor, who also faces a criminal prosecution for alleged campaign finance violations and was recently stripped from the November ballot after a court determined he didn’t actually live in the city of London.
Combined with the $860,000 American Express Inc. is seeking to reclaim against him and his businesses, the remaining car balance means debtors are after Weddle for nearly $1 million in debt, according to public court filings.
The mayor has claimed he no longer owns the recycling company that faces nearly $700,000 in corporate credit card debt. As for the Lamborghini case, he told the Herald-Leader he expects the lawsuit will be dismissed “this week.”
Weddle’s luxury car purchase in 2022 coincides with what would turn out to be a lavish year for the successful London businessman. He put down more than $85,000 on the 2-year-old Lamborghini at a dealership in Sarasota, Florida, in June and was elected mayor five months later in November.
In December 2022, defense attorneys have said he was on a nine-day, $345,000 private chartered cruise in the Bahamas when he allegedly gave $93,000 to Gov. Andy Beshear and the Kentucky Democratic Party on behalf of his family members and business associates in violation of state and federal individual donor limits.
Attorneys for the mayor have claimed he is the victim of a partisan attack. Weddle has said repeatedly he didn’t know he can’t make donations on behalf of other people and worked with Behsear’s office and the KDP to recoup the payments once he was made aware. Typically, for campaign finance violations to rise to the criminal level in Kentucky they must be “knowing violations.”
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, whose office is prosecuting the case against Weddle, is a Republican. He’s already attempted to fend off claims that the case is politically motivated, since the then mayor-elect’s donations favored Democrats.
