Neil Young - Neil Young's Firm Hit With Lawsuit

The singer, who founded the San Francisco-based firm LincVolt Llc, commissioned the group in 2008 to convert a vintage 1959 Lincoln Continental into a hybrid vehicle, which would run on electricity and a biodiesel-powered generator.

The experiment went off without a hitch until November, 2010 when a malfunction in the car sparked a fiery blaze, causing nearly $1 million (£625,000)-worth of damage to two nearby San Carlos warehouses.

Bosses at Unigard Insurance Co. filed a $500,000 (£312,500) lawsuit against LincVolt Llc on Tuesday (17Jan12), accusing the company of negligence.

In court documents, executives insist, "The altering of a gas-powered 1959 vehicle and its components is an extreme departure from what a reasonably careful person would do."

Ironically, the Heart of Gold hitmaker lost the most in the accident - a trove of Young's rock 'n' roll memorabilia, including instruments, photos and film footage, which were stored in the warehouse, went up in flames in the blaze.