Deion wins suit over auto repair bill

DALLAS (AP) -- A judge ruled in favor of Deion Sanders on Monday, saying the former Dallas Cowboy paid the full amount he had authorized for repairs on his vintage 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible.

State District Judge Joe Cox made the ruling after a one-day trial.

The owner of the repair shop said Sanders wanted to pay only $1,500 of the $4,265.57 bill, saying that Jesus had informed him that was all he needed to pay.

"It's the 'Praise Jesus' discount," attorney Ed Edson told The Dallas Morning News in Monday's editions.

Edson said he has been trying to collect the bill from Sanders since 2001 on behalf of Phil Compton, the owner of the car repair business.

"That's sad that they would use the Lord's name in vain, just to strike up publicity," Sanders told Dallas-Fort Worth television station KDFW.

"I'm not hurting for money. And let's be honest. A $4,000 bill, I could have written a check a long time ago," Sanders said. "But it's the principle. I'm tired of getting ripped off."

Anthony Montoya, a representative for Sanders, had contacted Compton and told him the convertible needed to be towed to his shop for repairs. The car had been repaired before by Compton.

Montoya testified in court on Monday that he told Compton there was a $1,500 ceiling on the cost of repairs.

Papers filed in his lawsuit stated that Compton and his mechanics installed a new radiator and thermostat, flushed the engine, repaired the car's electrical system and gauges, replaced the starter motor, removed contaminated fuel and rebuilt the carburetor. Mechanics for Magrathea Inc., Compton's company, had replaced gaskets and hoses.

Sanders had approved and Montoya had approved all the repairs, according to the lawsuit. But when the car was returned to the CBS sportscaster's home in Plano on Nov. 5, 2001, Compton said Pilar Sanders, the former Cowboy's wife, "answered the door, took the keys and invoices, started the car to make sure it was working and went back into the locked house, refusing to return the keys or invoices."

Sanders' bodyguards and housekeepers then moved their cars in front of and behind the Lincoln so that it couldn't be towed back to the garage, the lawsuit stated.

When Sanders drove up, he refused to pay the invoice amount, allegedly handing Compton a $1,500 check and saying, "Praise Jesus ... I follow what in my heart I'm told to pay."