Legal Files

The Frankenstein Mercedes-Benz 280SL

George felt his time was coming. He was through with his studies and was just getting established in his career. Unburdened by a wife or kids, he had been able to save up some money and he was ready to have some fun with it. His interest in collector cars […]

When Your Hobby Becomes a Business

One unexpected consequence of today’s hot collector car market has been that many SCMers have been buying and selling more cars more quickly than ever before. They — and their accountants — have wondered if they have crossed the line from a collector to a dealer, which would carry some […]

Courtesy of KATU News

’Cuda Surfaces, Bugatti Drowns

Earlier this year, Portland, OR, residents Rick and Jackie White were stunned to find a very technically worded legal notice in their mail. A lien service company was informing them that a local towing company was auctioning off their 1970 ’Cuda to satisfy its unpaid storage bill. They weren’t stunned […]

Car Damage, Insurance and Agreed-Value Policies

Two recent cases that attracted a lot of attention seem to involve different issues, but they actually have a lot in common. In one, SCM and ACC contributor John Stein brought to our attention a recent fire in a Sacramento repair shop that destroyed a number of Porsches. In the […]

Litigation Breeds More Litigation Regarding Ferrari 375 Plus

  Several years ago, “Legal Files” reported about the litigation surrounding 1954 Ferrari 375 Plus, s/n 0384AM (October 2010, p. 30). The 375 Plus, one of six made, was well-known in the hands of Jack Swaters, the Belgian former race driver and Ferrari importer. Karl Kleve, an atomic scientist who […]

Finding Fakes, Stolen Cars and Corvette Lawsuits

  Last month’s Legal Files suggested that there are epidemic proportions of “matching-numbers” Corvettes (and other cars) that really aren’t matching-numbers cars. That attracted a lot of attention and comments, but what people say is not as important as what they don’t say. No one said the suggestion was sometimes […]

Matching-Numbers Blues

  “Joe” wanted to get into the collector car hobby. After kicking a lot of tires and spending many hours on the Internet, he came across a Southern California dealer offering a car that he had always wanted — a 1962 Corvette Roadster. The car was a matching-numbers example with […]

Where’s the Crime?

We thought it was odd that our client’s Mercedes-Benz dealer was threatening to sue him for wrongfully exporting his car in violation of his agreement that he would not do so, exposing him to substantial liquidated damages. As we got into the case, we learned that this was a really […]

Same Plaintiff, Different Corvette

  We recently reported on the status of a lawsuit involving the Briggs Cunningham Corvette, which is ongoing (December 2013, p. 40 and January 2014, p. 42). Domenico M. Idoni, one of the plaintiffs in that case, is now the plaintiff in another lawsuit involving another Corvette, the “Real McCoy.” […]

High Prices, High Taxes

The 2014 Scottsdale auctions showed that many collectors are taking advantage of the hot market and selling cars for record prices. But many of those collectors are also learning that we are in an era of high income tax rates. So, how can collectors minimize the tax costs? Basic tax […]