MAN SUING INSURANCE OVER STOLEN $170,000 COLLECTION

With great coverage comes great responsibility, or so one Woodcliff Lake man thought.

He's suing his insurance company, saying it didn't pay out a claim after his rare vintage comic books were stolen.

Jeffrey Eilender, lawyer by day, comic book collector by night, has collected rare comics, some worth tens of thousands of dollars, with his son for years. But last year, his most valuable comics, worth over $170,000 -- including an "Amazing Spider-Man" No. 1 -- were stolen from his home.

"This is a really devastating loss," Eilender told The Record.

The stolen comics were insured, but a year later, Eilender's six-figure claim has still not been paid out by the United National Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Global Indemnity.

So on Monday, he filed suit.

"I've been waiting for the insurance company to do the right thing," Eilender said. "Normally they give you a coverage decision in two to three months. Maybe five months."

Eilender believes the comics were stolen in May 2021. Police investigated the theft, but Eilender said they weren't able to find out who stole them. Eilender subsequently filed the insurance claim in June.

The Woodcliff Lake Police Department did not provide any information on the status of the investigation.

Eilender owns thousands of comic books. But the ones stolen were his most valuable possessions, and were kept in a box in his son's room, separate from most of the collections.

Eilender's books were appraised by the Certified Guaranty Company, which gives comics quality grades ranging "from less than 1 to 9.8 with the higher grades being worth several multiples more than the lower grades," according to the complaint.

Although Eilender's copy of "Fantastic Four" No. 1 has only a 4.5 grade, the complaint estimated its worth at about $10,000, given its significance to the comic book canon. Eilender also had a restored copy of "Amazing Spider-Man" No. 1 with a grade of 9.4. Though restored copies are worth less, the complaint valued the copy at around $60,000.

Also stolen was a copy that could likely never be replaced, Eilender's copy of "Amazing Fantasy 15" -- the first comic book appearance of Spider-Man. Though its CGC grade was only 5.5, it's signed by Stan Lee and Tom Holland, making it worth about $30,000, according to the complaint.

These copies are among several others that were stolen, with a combined worth of over $170,000, according to the complaint.

Eilender's coverage policy, which the complaint said covers up to $188,160, is supposed to cover stolen property.

"This is clearly covered loss," he said. "There's no conceivable argument they can make where they shouldn't have to pay for this loss."

A message requesting comment left with Global Indemnity's senior counsel was not answered.

Eilender said he has paid all the bills for the claim and has not missed a payment, but that he hasn't heard anything regarding the claim's status despite talking to insurance adjustors and a private investigator hired by the company. The complaint called it a de facto denial of coverage.

"I bought this insurance for exactly this kind of situation," Eilender said. "I paid my premiums. I cooperated with the insurance company. They just don't want to do the right thing."

The complaint states that Eilender is seeking "covered loss for the covered property plus consequential damages."

Though his comic books are quite financially valuable, Eilender said he mostly cares about the sentimental value.

He doesn't know exactly what happened to them, but said it's unlikely they'll be recovered, which he called a "tragedy."

"I've been collecting comics for almost 50 years, and this was the culmination of all the years of collecting," Eilender said.

"I wasn't looking to sell these things. I wanted to keep them in the family."

Email: quinnl@northjersey.com

Twitter: @Liam_D_Quinn