John practices law in the Portland, OR, suburb of Lake Oswego, where he focuses on tax and estate planning, business organizations and transactions, and representation of collector-car owners. He is a past president of the Oregon region of the Porsche Club of America and served as the chairman of the PCA’s 2006 parade. An avid racer, he is a regular competitor in the SCCA Spec Racer Ford class. He is also a founding board member and past President of the non-profit Friends of PIR, dedicated to safeguarding the future of Portland International Raceway.
John’s personal immersion in car culture led to the development of a highly specialized, nationwide niche practice: Car Collector Law. Navigating the high-stakes world of collector vehicles requires a rare blend of rigorous tax acumen and practical automotive knowledge. John regularly advises clients, collectors, and fellow enthusiasts on critical issues that standard legal practices rarely encounter.
Learn from John about Montana LLCs & Million-Dollar Missteps and collector car estate planning on the Collector Car Podcast, or on the Buy Sell Hold podcast.
His collection includes two Porsches, a Ferrari, an Alfa, a Lotus, a BMW daily driver, a John Deere tractor — and one increasingly famous Jaguar E-type.
Articles in Sports Car Market
Here are the latest articles from John:
Pay to Park – Car-storage facilities offer a desirable service, but not without liability concerns I received an invitation the other day to attend the grand opening celebration of a new car-storage facility in my area.It looked great on the website, an attractive facility with a clubhouse for members and a variety of automotive events scheduled to create opportunities… Read more Salvaging Reputations – How did the sale of a restored Porsche 356 SC result in a branded title? “Adam,” a resident of a foreign country, found a nice U.S.-spec Porsche 356 SC that had been exported to his country in 2009. While there, the car was nicely restored and passed to a couple of owners before Adam bought… Read more Noose Tightens on Montana Loophole – Registering your collector car in a Montana LLC to avoid state sales tax was all fun and games — until now, that is. California is on a mission to stamp out the “Montana Loophole.” California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a press release on March 6, 2026, announcing that his office had just filed a… Read more Judgment Day for Collector Car Fraud? – “Legal Files” recently reported on the fraud claims brought against well-known Porsche restoration shop CPR Classic of Fallbrook, CA (December 2024, “No Resuscitation for CPR Classic,” p. 54). Numerous customers complained that they were defrauded when the shop took their money without delivering the purchased car, sold cars on consignment without paying the seller, and… Read more Car-Nappers Dupe Shippers – The November 2025 “Legal Files” about car transporters getting hacked seems to have been just the tip of the iceberg. We received many responses to the article, but the best came from “Chuck,” who had an interesting experience after selling his GT3-class race car on Bring a Trailer. Chuck sold the car, received the money… Read more Michael Jordan Still Dominates the Court – The NASCAR antitrust lawsuit settled during the ninth day of a trial that was expected to last at least another two. Specifics of the settlement have not been made public, except to report that NASCAR’s team charters will become permanent, or “evergreen,” as described in the parties’ joint statement. You might remember that “Legal Files”… Read more Caught in a Crunch – It was an eventful week at Mecum Auctions’ recent four-day Dallas/Fort Worth sale — hundreds of cars sold and only four crashed! The accident happened in the post-sale staging area, where three of the cars were parked. A driver, presumably a Mecum employee, was moving a 1958 Willys resto-mod pickup. The truck sported a 5.7-liter… Read more Rock the Nismo – Mark Bahna is a big fan of JDM cars and currently owns a Nissan Skyline R34 GTR Spec II Nür and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV. But his pride and joy has been his 1994 Nissan Nismo 270R. It is one of only 30 made, numbers matching, and has its original paint and decals. It… Read more Long-Distance Transactions Remain Risky – When eBay Motors started online car auctions, I was sure it would never last. There was just too much potential for crooks to cheat people, and the venue would collapse once people figured that out. I guess in retrospect, I was half right. There’s a lot of fraud, but online car-sales activity just continues to… Read more Please Get Your Car – A common complaint in the collector car hobby involves a car owner who grows frustrated with a restoration shop that takes years and years to complete a restoration, no matter how hard it is pushed. Here’s an example of the complete opposite — an owner who won’t pick up his car. Do-over Bryant McCants wanted… Read more Playing the Percentages – The One Big Beautiful Bill Act has traveled a rough-and-tumble political road, but we now have some certainty about the tax picture for the next 10 years. Collectors are now able to forge ahead on what to do with their car collections from a tax planning perspective. Income-tax rates Sales of collector cars that have… Read more Two Porsches, One Serial Number – One of the most exciting Bring a Trailer auctions ever went live on May 7, when a 1967 Porsche 910 (Lot 191750) was offered by a new seller, PSAutomobile. The listing was accompanied by over 600 photographs, and the auction would go on to rack up over 450 comments over the next two weeks. From… Read more Warranted Action – It’s gotten to the point where I get so many robocalls on my cell phone that I don’t answer it when I don’t recognize the caller. Most often, it’s someone trying to sell me a Medicare supplement plan. Next most common is someone pushing an extended warranty on my car. Thankfully, the Federal Trade Commission… Read more Tariffs Really Taxing the Auto Industry – As I write this, President Trump’s executive order that imposes 25% tariffs on imported cars has just gone into effect, and the stock market has tumbled. There is no doubt that, by the time you read this, something more will have happened. The tariffs may be changed, or even abandoned, or the automotive industry may… Read more Your Own Garage Mahal – We’ve all learned that car collections quickly become storage problems. It is easy to fall into the spiral of having bought so many cars that more space is needed. So a new garage is constructed, but that leads to buying more cars, which makes it necessary to build an even bigger garage. And on and… Read more Untimely and Unexpected – We’ve heard all sorts of stories about restorations gone bad, but here’s a new twist. We recently received the following email from an SCMer. I never thought I would have a subject that you might want to share with your readers, but here goes. I ‘have’ a 2000 Jaguar XK8 convertible, probably not much more… Read more Blinded by the Light – Sensing that I was getting retinal damage driving at night, I wondered if I was developing cataracts. My optometrist assured me that was not the case, so I started flashing people to dim their high beams, only to find that their high beams were even brighter. Eventually, I figured out that the problem was the… Read more Monopoly Money? – Tyler Reddick, driving for NBA legend Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing team, just went from 3rd to 1st on the last lap to win at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It gave the NASCAR regular-season champion an automatic entry into the NASCAR Championship 4, and a shot at the 2024 season championship. Amid the celebration, you wouldn’t know that… Read more No Resuscitation for CPR Classic – Collector car dealers who sell customers’ cars and never pay them their money is not a new subject for SCM readers. But it was a whole new experience for Hans Claassen of Montrose, CO. NBC 7 San Diego recently reported that Claassen is one of many clients who claims he is owed money from CPR… Read more The Case of the Runaway Rolls – Memory Lane Motors has been a collector car fixture in Portland, OR, for over 40 years, dealing largely in mid-range American and European classic cars. Manager Elan Davis says that in all that time, it has never sold a car at auction. To his regret, he made his first attempt early this year. The dealership… Read more Big Lie Country – The August 2024 “Legal Files” about California cracking down on Montana-registered cars produced quite a response. We received more letters about this topic than for any other recent column, so we’re revisiting the subject this month. The surprise was that almost all the letter-writers were unsympathetic to this practice. Many were highly critical of what… Read more Collector Car Estate Sales – We’ve lately received several letters inquiring about estate planning, including this one: I have eight “special” cars that I have acquired over approximately 20 years. I maintain and drive them regularly. They are basically cars I always desired while growing up, which is probably a typical story. I will probably not sell them before I… Read more California Cracks Down on Montana LLCs – “Trevor” was surprised when a California state investigator and two sheriff’s deputies rang his doorbell. They were armed with a search warrant authorizing them to search his garage and to seize his cell phone. The garage search located exactly what they knew would be there — a high-dollar sports car with Montana license plates. The… Read more Avoiding the Restoration Blues – In the March issue, we featured the story of famed E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg and his bad restoration experience. Weinberg was motivated to contact “Legal Files” with his cautionary tale in the hope that fellow SCMers might avoid getting into a similar situation. To recap, Weinberg agreed to pay $225,000 for a 1957… Read more Sharing the Pain – Airbnb and Vrbo have become household names for vacation rentals, widely popularizing the idea of a “sharing economy.” A number of similar car-sharing services have also popped up in the past few years, all with a similar pitch: If you own a car, you can make extra money by renting it out through their app… Read more Dealer Dinged by Dash Cam – John Parrish of Burlington, NC, is proud of his 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Factory stock with 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, it eats up pavement pretty quickly. In his words, the combination of the white exterior and red interior “just does it for me.” However, the Corvette developed a minor running problem. Parrish… Read more Consignments Become Lawsuits – Let’s say you want to become a collector-car dealer. First, you need a building large enough to hold a sufficient number of cars for sale, in an appropriate location. That requires significant capital. Next, you need an inventory of marketable collector cars. That requires even more significant capital. Stephen Phelps thought he had the first… Read more Drummer Gets Snared – My favorite rock group of all time is Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. You can imagine my excitement, then, when drummer Max Weinberg called my office and told me he was a longtime SCMer and “a huge fan of ‘Legal Files.’” Flattering indeed, but unfortunate that we made our acquaintance because he had… Read more As the Escrow Flies … – “Harry” and “Sally” are longtime Irish car collectors. At 78, Harry hasn’t given up on cars, and ended up being the high bidder in an online auction on Car & Classic. The prize was a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 220A cabriolet that hammered sold at a bid of €112,100 (about $123k). What makes this an interesting story… Read more Best Man for the Job – “Legal Files” has written twice about the legal battle involving Porsche Carrera RSR prototype chassis number 9113600686, commonly known as “R7” (September and November 2023). We last reported that the litigation was settled with the Kenny Schachter car being declared the real R7. The car was then on the docket at Bonham Cars’ Goodwood Revival… Read more Big Damage, Limited Recovery – It sure seemed like a great idea. “Pete” was flying all the way across the country for Monterey Car Week, and there was a Ferrari he wanted for sale in Monterey. He planned to check out the car, buy it if it was a good one, and ship it back home with an experienced collector-car… Read more Porsche R7 Litigation Resolved – In the September 2023 issue, “Legal Files” reported about the litigation involving two cars, each claiming to be the 1973 Porsche Carrera 911 RSR prototype chassis number 9113600686, commonly known as “R7.” Jacob Shalit filed suit against Kenny Schachter, seeking to establish that his car was the real R7. The litigation recently settled, with Schachter… Read more Shading the Truth – A 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster was produced in an unusual color called Fantasy Yellow, or Fantasiegelb. It was the sixth 300SL to be equipped with disc brakes and was featured by the factory at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show. For unknown reasons, the car was repainted red shortly afterward. Its original Swiss owner kept the… Read more Piecing Together the Truth – In 1973, rule changes made the iconic and highly successful Porsche 917 ineligible for many races. Porsche developed the 911 Carrera RSR to take its place, which required that the automaker homologate at least 500 street versions to qualify for competition. Porsche ended up selling 1,525 Carrera RS cars and 55 RSRs that went to… Read more Lawsuit Bankrupts Restoration Shop – My father was normally calm and laid back. It seemed nothing rattled him. But if my siblings and I pushed him too far, watch out! Apparently, Bill Oesterle has a similar temperament. Oesterle, one of the co-founders of Angie’s List, is a longtime car collector. At his apex, he had over 250 cars in his… Read more Slow Grind – The wheels of justice grind slowly, but they eventually get there. This month we have a collection of stories — updates on two old cases, plus a trio of new ones, in brief. C-type-replica litigation “Legal Files” reported in May 2021 that Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) was garnering a lot of hobbyist animosity by suing… Read more Online Scam Dealers Multiply – Publisher Martin called and said, “You’ve got to talk to our friend ‘Mark.’ You won’t believe what he’s gotten into now!” Martin had made a huge impression on Mark, telling him how his Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG was the best thing since sliced bread. So Mark started digging around on the internet and located a great-looking… Read more How to Survive an Auction – The 2023 auction season kicked off with big January sales in Florida and Arizona. We counted a total of 5,394 collector cars sold by Barrett-Jackson, Bonhams, MAG Auctions, Mecum Auctions and RM Sotheby’s. (We’ll have full results and analysis in next month’s issue.) What struck me as we watched all those cars cross the block… Read more Mind the Paperwork – Ahead of the upcoming driving season, “Steve” took his 1958 Porsche 356 “Outlaw” coupe to his favorite local Porsche repair shop for some needed work. Once completed, a short test drive was necessary for the mechanic to verify that everything was working properly. As the mechanic came to a nearby intersection, he spotted a Mitsubishi… Read more Unredeemable Jackpot – The Dillon County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina announced that a 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spyder, valued at $23 million, was stolen during the early morning hours of July 25, 2022. Detective Sara Albarri said that the 8C was inside a 2009 Haulmark trailer pulled by a white 2002 Ford F-350 dually pickup… Read more The Case of the Buried Benz – Readers often ask where I find “Legal Files” column ideas. Many times, they come from suggestions from SCMers, so if you spot something interesting, feel free to email a tip. This story came from my first and most loyal reader, Publisher Martin. Not usually a man of few words, his email contained just a link… Read more The Case of the Stolen Talbot-Lago – A 1938 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Goutte d’Eau Coupé “Teardrop Coupe,” serial number 90108, one of 16 believed to be made, is at the center of a complicated case that recently took a new turn. In June, the purported mastermind of its 2001 theft, Chris Gardner, was extradited from Switzerland. The car had resurfaced in 2015 after… Read more That Sinking Feeling – Longtime client “Pete” called recently with a problem. He was selling his boat, and what he thought was a simple deal had started to go sideways. The situation resembled some scary car deals we’ve seen over the years. Pete had found a buyer who was willing to buy both his boat and boathouse at a… Read more The Collision of Auto Repair Laws and Restorations – Al and Deb Poller enjoyed driving their 1931 Chevrolet in vintage-car events, but it showed its age. It was time to restore it, so the New Jersey residents searched for a restoration shop. They settled on Okoboji Classic Cars LLC (OCC) in Iowa. In 2013, Mrs. Poller sent an email with photos of the car,… Read more Gotta Sue Somebody – Picture this. You take your manual-transmission Jeep to the local dealer for an oil change. While you’re reading a car magazine in the waiting room, you hear a commotion. Apparently, a 19-year-old dealer employee who not only did not know how to drive a manual-transmission car, but didn’t even have a driver’s license, tried to… Read more The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship? – Just in case you’re one of the few SCMers who haven’t heard about it, RM Sotheby’s set a new world record for the highest automobile sales price ever achieved. On May 5, it auctioned a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe that was part of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Collection, selling it for €135,000,000 ($142,668,000). This sale… Read more Title Trouble – “Legal Files” recently received a call from a distressed longtime friend and client. “Mark” had moved to Arizona and tried to register his 1972 Ferrari Daytona. Mark had owned the car for many years, and presented his clear title issued by his former state. To his surprise, the Arizona DMV clerk would not register the… Read more The Case of the “Contraband” Corvette – Richard Martinez always wanted a Corvette, and he finally found one he liked. The car was a 1959, finished in Roman Red with an Ermine White cove, with a red vinyl interior and a hard top, an older restoration that was wearing well. The car was for sale at Jabaay Motors in Indiana, where Martinez… Read more Sticky Goldfingers – The Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sean Connery in “Goldfinger” — modified with weaponry suitable for use by James Bond — is thought by many to be the most famous car in the world. It has also been one of the most amazing automotive mysteries of all time. The Bond DB5 was last owned by… Read more Pay to Hold – “Legal Files” gets interesting letters from all sorts of sources. Here’s one from none other than Publisher Martin: If Bring a Trailer is the Tiffany of online sales, then Facebook Marketplace is the armpit. No vetting, no uniform description, no trolls. I don’t know how these deals find me, but on a Friday night, a… Read more Know Your Insurance Policy – What do you think about this? You’ve been a loyal collector-car policy customer for many years. You’ve insured 27 cars on the policy and never had a single claim. One night, one of your collector cars is stolen. The police recover it four days later, but the thieves have damaged it to the tune of… Read more Risky Business – Drifting is perhaps the most exciting new auto-racing variant of the times. Propelled to stardom by the “Fast and Furious” movie series, drift fans can’t get enough of the sideways-sliding, rubber-burning spectacle. The problem has been finding appropriate venues for the sport. The first, and likely best, purpose-built drifting venue in the U.S. is Villains… Read more Is It Time to Sell? – As most SCMers know, the collector-car market is way up, we are likely in a transition period for taxes, and we are getting older. All things end. Is it becoming the time to consider how we phase out of car collecting? Let’s consider the various forces that may or may not be affecting that decision.… Read more Giving Back – Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. was recently ordered to forfeit to the Iraq government a rare antiquity it had purchased for $1.7 million. The Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, a rare cuneiform tablet bearing a portion of the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh, is considered one of the world’s oldest works of literature. It originated in Mesopotamia, which is… Read more GT Oh No – Bonhams sold Ferrari 250 GTO #3851GT at its 2014 Quail Lodge auction for $38,115,000, including buyer’s premium. It was a world-record sale — the highest price ever obtained at an auction. One would expect Bonhams’ staff and the seller to be high-fiving after the hammer fell. Instead, the seller sued Bonhams. These are some of… Read more Sidestepping the Broker – This month’s “Legal Files” concerns a recent situation in which a friend bought a car that was listed in an online auction. Except that “Bob” didn’t win the auction; he wound up as the underbidder. The high bidder did not meet the seller’s reserve, however, and the auction was a no-sale. Shortly after the auction… Read more Your Registration is Canceled – One of the hot segments of the collector-car market is Japanese domestic market (JDM) vehicles. Previously not exported to the U.S., the popularity of JDM vehicles was spurred when the federal government relaxed import requirements for vehicles over 25 years old. A subset of the JDM category are “kei cars,” which are the smallest road-legal… Read more What If CARFAX Got It Wrong? – SCM Publisher Martin stoked a lot of interest with his May 2021 “Shifting Gears” column that explained how important CARFAX has become to the collector-car market. We printed excellent letters from Donald Davret and David Preston concerning CARFAX and potential errors in its reports in the July 2021 issue. Subsequently, Publisher Martin received another letter… Read more Last Call for the Cunningham Corvette – The #1 Briggs Cunningham Chevrolet Corvette, raced by the Cunningham team in the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans, sold for $758,500 at RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island, Florida, auction in May. The result was a bit of a disappointment, given the pre-auction estimate of $900,000 to $1.3 million, but the Corvette could not have gone… Read more Home Court Advantage – The world has gotten a lot smaller these days. Say you search the internet and find a nice-looking, numbers-matching 1964 Porsche 356SC advertised by a dealer 2,000 miles away. The car looks great, all the right boxes are checked, and there are 85 pictures of every nook and cranny. You call the dealer to talk… Read more The Lost and Found Ferrari – The latest stolen-supercar story hit the news recently when U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted a stolen Ferrari F50 on December 14, 2019, at the Peace Bridge Port of Entry in Buffalo, NY. Alert CBP officers noticed that some of the rivets on the dashboard VIN plate were covered in a black tar-like substance. The… Read more Will Your Replica Be Destroyed? – The collector-car world was recently stunned by the news that a Swedish court awarded judgment to Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in its copyright infringement case against Karl and Ann-Christine Magnusson. The court ruled that the Magnussons, who were in the process of building a C-type replica, had violated JLR’s copyright in the C-type form. Their… Read more Unfinished Business – The October 2020 “Legal Files,” co-authored with Prescott Kelly, reported about a lawsuit filed against Coys of Kensington involving a 1973 Porsche Carrera RS. That lawsuit seems to be the tip of a large iceberg. Once again, we want to point out that the previous Coys, owned by Chris Routledge, is the target of the… Read more Salvage-Title Ferrari: Bargain or a Bad Deal? – Recently, SCMer Bruce Cochran wrote me with an interesting suggestion: “I thought this particular listing for a Ferrari F12 might be of possible interest for a future dissertation. Without knowing anything about ‘salvage titles,’ my first instinct has always been to run in the other direction. My assumption has always been that these cars have… Read more Is This a Ferrari TdF — or Something Else? – My interest was immediately aroused when I saw this in my inbox, a letter on which I had been cc’ed, from a renowned Ferrari expert and historian: Attn. Mr. Rod Egan, Worldwide Auctioneers: I have been reading the January 2021 issue of Sports Car Market magazine and saw the Worldwide ad for the Arizona auction,… Read more Understanding Auction Theory – Dear Legal Files: I read your article on shill bidding (“Legal Files,” November 2020) this week. It was funny because I had just bid at auction for a piece of art that I didn’t win. The bidding went to my bid limit, which was me, and then $20k higher on the next bid. I was… Read more Is Your 1973 Porsche Carrera RS Real? – Andreas Pohl is a wealthy and powerful man. The billionaire CEO of Deutsche Vermoegensberatung (DVAG), a German finance company, is also a car guy. One would think that with all the resources available to him, he wouldn’t get snookered on a car deal. Moreover, one would think no one would try. Unfortunately, he isn’t any… Read more Letting the Shill “Win” – Dear “Legal Files”: Have you written about or looked into “shill” bidding on Bring a Trailer? I’m not sure how common it is or if it even exists, but I recently had an experience that got me thinking. I was bidding on a nice restored Datsun 240Z. (By the way, I’m a Porsche guy, but… Read more There Can Be Only One, Part II – Last month, “Legal Files” started the story of two Porsche 904s, one owned by “Dieter” in Germany and the other owned by the estate of Ken Allison in Kentucky, each claimed to be chassis number 904054 (September 2020, p. 52). Our firm partnered with the London firm of Goodman Derrick to represent Dieter. At the… Read more There Can Be Only One – German collector “Dieter” was intrigued when he spotted an Internet ad offering Porsche 904 GTS chassis 904054 for sale. “That’s odd,” he thought. “That’s the same chassis number of my 904 GTS that is sitting in my garage.” The ad had been posted by TPE Ltd., a Japanese collector-car dealer operated by Akihiro Orimoto. The… Read more Changing Market Presents Challenges – Everyone has their opinion about where the collector-car market is headed, and no one can honestly claim that their crystal ball is clearer than anyone else’s. “Legal Files” won’t claim to know more about the market than the real market experts, whose words appear on other pages of this issue. But conducting a legal practice… Read more Cars in the Courts – The COVID-19 lockdown has had a dramatic effect on our society. Among the many dislocations are that people are driving less, interacting less — and trying to stay out of trouble. Also, the courts are pretty much shut down except for essential business. As a result, there haven’t been any juicy legal files popping up… Read more Coronavirus Infects the Car Market – As I write this, most of us are working from home, practicing safe social distancing and hoping for a speedy return to “normal.” The COVID-19 pandemic has not only cost many lives, but it has caused severe damage to the world economy. No one knows how long it will be before life is “normal” once… Read more Traps for the Unwary Buyer – Two months ago (February 2020, p. 60), “Legal Files” focused on several traps that unwary sellers might fall into when selling collector cars. This month, we turn the tables and look at ways that a buyer can get into trouble. Get what you’re paying for Perhaps the most critical thing is to be sure that… Read more The Perils of Selling Online – Last month’s “Legal Files” made a number of suggestions for sellers of collector cars. The printer’s ink wasn’t even dry when an inquiry arrived from an SCMer who presented a perfect example about how online sales can be troublesome: Dear Legal Files: I recently sold my 1972 Porsche 911 Targa on Bring a Trailer, and… Read more Legal Traps for the Unwary Seller – They say that all good things come to an end — and now it’s time to sell your collector car. While it may seem like an easy thing to do, there are a lot of potential legal land mines waiting for you when you become a collector-car seller. Auctions The first thing to come to… Read more Making Old Cars Safer – You’ve probably seen news reports about comedian Kevin Hart’s car crash and his extensive injuries. Despite Internet reports that all involved have “lawyered up” and that a “lawsuit’s almost certain,” we haven’t seen an actual lawsuit filed. Maybe it’s getting filed as you read this, but the lack of a lawsuit doesn’t mean we can’t… Read more From Auction House to Courthouse – Falcon Woods LLC, a Nevis, West Indies, limited-liability company, was about to cut a fat hog. It had consigned its 1954 Ferrari 250 Europa GT coupe, chassis number 0379GT, to Gooding & Company for its 2018 Scottsdale auction. The estimated sales price for Lot 116 was $1.6m to $2m. Just before the auction started, Falcon… Read more Trailer Insurance Woes – SCMer Lee Cross, a Shelby enthusiast who organizes the annual GT350 Tour, shared a very interesting story: I am passing along an incident as something that might present a topic with wide relevance to your audience; i.e., the legal technicalities that arise when a collector attaches a trailer to their tow vehicle. I usually trailer… Read more When a Friend Crashes Your Car – You’re a trusting soul — a nice guy. Your best friend Tom tells you how disappointed he is that his Ferrari is in the shop for an extended stay and he has to miss the next Ferrari Club weekend drive. You have already agreed to spend that weekend with your in-laws, so you tell your… Read more Auction Wars in Scottsdale – Leake Auction Company has big plans for its first-ever auction in Scottsdale, AZ, in January 2020. But the welcome mat is not out. Immediately upon announcing its new auction, Leake got hit with a lawsuit filed by Russo and Steele alleging interference with contractual relations. Of course, Leake knew it was coming. The cast Drew… Read more Menacing the Highways – Before you read any further, let me make one point crystal clear — this column has absolutely nothing to do with the SCM 1000 Tour. Feel free to participate. I’m going. At the other end of the spectrum, participants in the Eurorally 2019 were met with a huge surprise as they traveled the A20 east… Read more Where Should Your Cars Live? – As Baby Boomers ease into retirement, they are becoming a very mobile generation. Many are migrating to other states, not just in search of a sunnier climate — but also for tax planning considerations. We’ve just seen federal income tax rates drop to historic lows, with ordinary rates peaking at 37% and capital gain rates… Read more The Stealth Claim – Legal Files” has written many times about the concept of diminished value — where even a perfectly repaired car is still worth less than it was before the damage occurred. This month, I’m enlisting the help of Mike Shoemaker, a Houston-based attorney who conducts a national practice representing car and aircraft owners when their vehicles… Read more New Tax Opportunities – Collectors lamented that the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated our ability to do 1031 Exchanges with our collector cars. After 2017, 1031 Exchanges are limited to real estate. This also means that doing a straight exchange with a car dealer doesn’t work either. That is, going to a Porsche dealer and trading your… Read more
Jerry Seinfeld Sued Over ’58 Speedster Sale – Alawsuit has been filed against Jerry Seinfeld, alleging that the 1958 Porsche Speedster he sold for $1,540,000 at the March 2016 Gooding & Company Amelia Island Auction is a fake. Seinfeld politely and sensibly declined to comment on the litigation, as one would expect, so we have to rely upon the complaint filed in the… Read more
Corvette Litigation Hits the Finish Line – After five years of “Legal Files” columns about this case (December 2013, p. 40; January 2014, p. 42; September 2015, p. 73), the legal battles over the #1 Cunningham Corvette seem to have come to an end. On December 21, 2018, Porter County Indiana Superior Court Judge Jeffrey W. Clymer appointed Indianapolis attorney William Baten… Read more
The Other Side of the Stolen Ferrari Case – Recently, “Legal Files” wrote about the end — or perhaps temporary cessation — of the litigation involving Barney Hallingby’s 1957 Ferrari 250 GT (October 2018, p. 50). The Ferrari was once the property of Andreas Gerber and Bernhard Friedli. They claimed that it was stolen in Spain in 1991. Friedli litigated the matter in Spain… Read more
What Could Possibly Go Right? – If you are a lawyer who works in the collector-car field, you get a lot of clients who are disappointed with cars they purchased from Internet ads. They aren’t all stories with unhappy endings, but they are a treasure trove of legal work. A recent victim, “Frank,” purchased a Porsche 930 from a dealer 2,000… Read more
Limited-Edition Supercars Tempt Trouble – Recently, 24 Champion Porsche customers were shocked to discover that the approximately $2.5 million they had given to Champion as deposits on 911 GT3RS cars and other highly-allocated Porsche supercars was stolen — and no cars were ordered. Actually, the problem was that they didn’t give the money to Champion Porsche, which is located in… Read more
Clever Internet Crooks Want Your Money – When was the last time you spent Sunday morning reading the classified section of your newspaper looking for a car to buy? Been a while? Yeah, me too. The Internet has pretty much replaced newspapers as the central marketplace for used cars. That is understandable, as the Internet allows easy access to buyers and sellers… Read more Ten Years Stuck in a Legal Quagmire – More than nine years ago, “Legal Files” (December 2008, p. 26) reported about the seizure of a 1957 Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina Series I cabriolet, chassis 0799GT, from the Sharon, CT, home of noted collector Barney Hallingby. Hallingby got the car back after about a year, but the litigation over its ownership has just… Read more
Tucker Torpedo Launches Into Court – Preston Tucker sure had big dreams. After World War II ended, he embarked on an ambitious plan to design, build and market his own car. His dreams came to fruition, and his eponymous company eventually produced 51 Tucker 48s before it went down in a financial firestorm. Tucker’s car was identified as the Tucker Torpedo… Read more
Ford Doubles Down on GT Litigation – Not long ago (February 2018, p. 62), “Legal Files” reported about the Ford Motor Company lawsuit against celebrity wrestler John Cena for flipping his new Ford GT. Ford’s position is that Cena agreed to hold the GT for at least 24 months, and that his quick sale was undermining Ford’s marketing efforts. Cena’s GT popped… Read more
Is Your Broker on Your Side? – Arecent decision in the United Kingdom’s High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, offers some interesting insights into the nature of the relationship between a classic-car dealer/broker and its customers. Although the case was decided under the laws of the United Kingdom, U.S. law is quite similar in this regard. Michael Tuke is an engineer… Read more A Rough Road for Self-Driving Cars – Should we cut to the chase and just call them self-crashing cars? Uber got a lot of unwanted attention on April 1, 2018, when one of its self-driving Volvo XC90s on a road test fatally struck a pedestrian in Tempe, AZ. Elaine Herzberg, 49, was walking her bicycle across Mill Avenue about 10 p.m. when… Read more
The Peril of Pay-to-Play – It seems to be the latest craze. If you’ve ever dreamed of driving an exotic car the way it was built to perform, if you’ve ever had delusions that you could compete with a Formula One driver, or if you just think it would be a kick in the pants — you can do it… Read more
More Valet Parking Miscues – James Fowler, an Orlando, FL, attorney, drove his yellow 2014 Ferrari Italia Spider to a lawyers’ meeting at the Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club — a Marriott property in Florida. He parked the Ferrari and left the keys with the valet, an employee of the parking lot operator, Seven One Seven Parking… Read more
The New Tax Landscape for Collectors – The Republican Party’s Christmas present to all of us was a new tax law. It made good on several promises, the most notable being President Trump’s promise to get it done before Christmas. Ballyhooed as the most significant tax reform measure since 1986 — that it definitely is, although reasonable minds can differ about whether… Read more
Ford GT Speeds Into Litigation – Ford just started delivering its brand-new supercar: the Ford GT. The car makes 647 horsepower — the most ever out of a V6 engine — yet it still carries Ford’s EcoBoost label. Built entirely out of carbon fiber, this spectacular supercar weighs in at 3,054 pounds, a lightweight by today’s standards. With an estimated 216… Read more
Shoddy Repair Costs Shop $42m – A lot of people will be surprised to learn that a dealer body shop’s shoddy repair work resulted in a $42m negligence verdict. And it wasn’t even the shop’s customer who sued, but a downstream purchaser of the car. Matthew and Marcia Seebachan purchased a used 2010 Honda Fit from a Texas Kia dealer in… Read more
Neighborhood Battleground – Houston attorney Tony Buzbee found himself in a war of words with his Homeowners Association — the River Oaks Property Owners. For some reason, the HOA isn’t very keen on his authentic World War II Sherman tank. In Buzbee’s words, “This particular tank landed at Normandy, it liberated Paris… and ultimately went all the way… Read more
Racing Blues – I’m a racer, but I’m not a historic — or vintage — racer. My observations are definitely unscientific, but it does appear to me that historic racing has grown more crash-prone than before. It seems that historic racers have grown more competitive, take more risks, and suffer greater damage to their and others’ cars than… Read more Who Pays for Short-Lived Cars? – We’ve all been here before. You’ve just bought a new collector car — one you’ve wanted for some time. You write the check, sign the paperwork, shake the seller’s hand, jump in the car and take off for some immediate fun. Unfortunately, most of us don’t stop to think that we might be in a… Read more
Registering Danger – As we work with many car collectors, our firm has run across a lot of errors on titles and registrations. They run the gamut: incorrect VINs, incorrect models, incorrect model years, engine numbers shown as the chassis numbers, incorrect manufacturers and so on. Almost everything on the registration can be a product of a mistake.… Read more Damaged at the Concours – “Bob” was pretty excited about showing his car at a concours. His 1967 Alfa Duetto Spider Veloce was in exceptional condition. Never wrecked, it still sported the shiny, original red lacquer paint with no significant flaws from the car’s 120,000-mile life. It was highly original — all the way down to the hose clamps and… Read more
A Truckload of Trouble – Mark Oberholtzer is the owner of a successful Texas plumbing company: Mark-1 Plumbing. One of the company’s plumbing trucks, a 2005 Ford F-250 pickup, had reached the end of its useful life. So Oberholtzer took it to the nearby AutoNation Ford Gulf Freeway dealership and traded it in on a new 2012 Ford F-250 pickup.… Read more Is There a Ferrari Odometer Rollback Hack? – So how does a seemingly innocuous firing of a car salesperson turn into a public-relations disaster for Ferrari? Easy — all sorts of unexpected consequences can arise when a Legal File is created. (Note: No one contacted by “Legal Files” was willing to speak on the record. Consequently, we drew heavily on court filings —… Read more
A Wakeup Call for Smartphone Users – Finally, someone is doing something about it. We’ve all seen the telltale signs. We look at the driver in the next lane and see one hand on the wheel, head down and making furtive occasional glances up and then back down. At night, it’s even easier to spot, as the glow of the cell phone… Read more
Will Taxes Get Trumped? – Ihave to think I was in the clear majority of the country — I didn’t see much chance that Donald Trump was going to be elected president.What may have been even more astounding was that the Republican Party gained control of both chambers of the Congress. That sets the stage for some pretty major changes… Read moreDude, Where’s My Car? – When you pull up to a restaurant or hotel and valet-park your car, it is reasonable to expect to get that car back in the same condition as when you dropped it off. Unfortunately for Mr. Carlo DiMarco, that is not always the case. According to a case filed in the District Court of Harris… Read more
Matching Numbers in Court – Put yourself in Gary Duncan’s shoes. He had owned this great, numbers-matching 1970 Pontiac GTO for over three years. He’d had some good fun with the GTO, but he owned a lot of cars and it was time for this one to move on. So he consigned it to an auction, expecting to even make… Read more Write Off Your Racing – Auto racing is expensive at any level. Often, a racer looks to reduce the cost by treating it as a business activity to deduct the expenses. Racers who do this have encountered mixed results when the IRS challenges their returns. If you are going to give this a try, it’s a good idea to understand… Read more A Drug-Fueled Car Auction – It’s safe to say that SCM has never before reported on an Apple Auctioneering Company sale — until now. Apple Auctioneering Company is an affiliate of Apple Towing Company, Houston’s largest towing company, and it bills itself as the “nation’s leader in seized asset management & government liquidation.” Apple seemed to hit the jackpot on… Read more A Soft Market and Hard Tax Choices – By now, everyone knows the collector car market has softened. The harder question is what will happen next. If you liken the collector car market to the stock market, you should be bullish. Every time the stock market has lost substantial value, as it recently did after the Brexit vote, it has quietly bounced back… Read more ‘Real McCoy’ Races to Judgment – Legal Files” previously reported (May 2014, p. 38) about a lawsuit filed by Domenico Idoni concerning the “Real McCoy” Corvette. This March, the lawsuit came to an end, with judgment entered in favor of Chuck Ungurean, the owner of the Corvette. The Real McCoy is a 1956 Chevrolet Corvette SR prototype that Chevrolet built to… Read more The Reincarnated Enzo – There have been several stories too big to fit into one “Legal Files” column, but the biggest of them all is the 2004 Ferrari Enzo that Stefan Eriksson crashed into a power pole at 199 miles per hour on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, CA. That story was in “Legal Files” in September 2006… Read more Keeping the IRS Away from Your Cars – Tax planning time is usually the end of the year. But this year, between the uncertainties of the presidential election, the IRS working on eliminating some of our favorite tax-planning techniques, the current softness in the collector car market, and interest rates possibly going up, it makes sense for the savvy collector to start early… Read more The Shops’ Side of Restos Gone Bad – The ink was barely dry on “When Restorations Go Bad” (March 2016, p. 42) when Legal Files received an email from George Medynski: “Nice article. But call me anytime if you want the other side of the story.” I’m always happy to start a quest with a thrown gauntlet, so I gave Medynski a call.… Read more Chicken Little May Have Had a Point… – Making sure your car is Q-tip-perfectly prepared before the concours judges arrive is stressful enough, but do we now have to watch for debris falling out of the sky? We’re talking about what the FAA calls Unmanned Aircraft Systems, but the rest of us call them drones. Drones are pretty fantastic devices that hover and… Read more When Restorations Go Bad – Disputes involving car restoration work are definitely in the upper echelon of the “Legal Files” Top 10 Hit Parade. That shouldn’t be surprising. Restorations have many elements that can easily lead to disputes: 1. It is really hard to know up front what level of work and cost most restorations are going to involve. For… Read more Auction Tips and Traps – January is nearing, and a good percentage of us will be making the annual pilgrimage to Scottsdale auction week. Great cars in the winter desert is tough to beat, especially when you board your plane in single-digit weather. But with thousands of bidders chasing fewer cars, well-stocked bidders’ bars and many millions of dollars changing… Read moreYour Year-End Car Collection Checklist – It’s the end of a great year for the collector car market. As it winds down, readers should take the opportunity to focus on a number of planning details. Tax rates likely to stay the same Year-end tax planning doesn’t look terribly complicated this year. Election season is in full swing — even though the… Read more
So You Want to Import a Car … – As exchange rates fluctuate, collector cars cross the oceans in the direction of the arbitrage. Add in some recent changes in U.S. import rules, and there is now quite a bit of interest in importing collector cars into the U.S. Is that a feasible option for the collector? U.S. law imposes a number of regulatory… Read more
Waking From a Litigation Nightmare – Last month, “Legal Files” gave a behind-the-scenes report on the settlement of the Cunningham Corvette case, explaining how hard it is to really be a winner in litigation and why settlements almost always make sense (September 2015, p. 70). This month, it’s the other side of the story — an example of a plaintiff taking… Read more Judge Prompts Settlement in Cunningham Corvette Case – The long legal battle over ownership of the #1 Briggs Cunningham 1960 Le Mans Corvette is over. When we last wrote about this fascinating case (January 2014, p. 42), the parties were about to argue a motion to dismiss the lawsuit entirely, which was not granted. A few weeks ago, they went to court… Read more Lancia Case Pits Son Against Father in Court – We’ve read about many court cases involving collector cars, but here is a new one — a father and son in a bitter court battle over the ownership of a four-car Lancia Stratos collection. The cars are a 1971 HF, a 1975 HF Silhouette Turbo, a 1975 Stradale street car and a 1975 Safari. After… Read more Selling Cars Without Worry – Last month, “Legal Files” focused on ways that a buyer can protect himself in a collector car purchase transaction. This month, we are focusing on how the seller can protect his interests. In today’s hot collector car market, the seller’s main problem is not getting the car sold, but keeping it sold — that… Read more Curb Your Enthusiasm – The collector car market has been very strong the past few years, and many cars are trading at prices that were unheard of not long ago. An unfortunate consequence of today’s market is that mistakes can cost a lot more than they did before. There also is a perception that good cars sell super… Read more Check Your Collector Car Insurance Today – Collector car insurance policies are the coverage of choice for car collectors. The premiums are very low, and you get better service and claims treatment. But while collector car insurance policies, as a class, are almost always superior to your basic consumer auto insurance policy, they are not all created equal. Are you covered? Here’s… Read more Do Your Homework Before Bidding – A recent Federal District Court decision in Illinois should be of serious concern to auction bidders. If it stands, we might all have to take a full coterie of mechanics and consultants with us to each auction. Our plaintiff, “Ted,” was a successful bidder at a 2011 auction. (“Legal Files” won’t identify the auction… Read more The Public Execution of a Mini Cooper – We all know that it’s going to be windy when a low-pressure area bumps up against a high-pressure area. The difference in air pressure sucks air into the low-pressure area until the pressures are equalized. “Legal Files” recently reported (June 2014, p. 54) how this same principle applies to economic disequilibrium, resulting in an industry… Read more Trading Cars to Avoid Taxes – Legal Files” gets a lot of questions, but the most frequent is: “How can I do a 1031 exchange with my collector car?” This is not much of a surprise. Many readers who have owned their collector cars for some time have realized significant appreciation they want to cash in on. Then they discover that… Read more 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 beckoned, and he was quite… Read more When Your Hobby Becomes a Business – In navigating the booming collector car market, many SCMers find themselves engaging in rapid buying and selling, prompting both personal and professional reflections. . Questions often arise, with both enthusiasts and their accountants pondering whether this increased activity nudges them from collector status into dealer territory, bringing forth potential tax and legal implications. Drawing from… Read more ’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 because of the substantial unpaid… Read more 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 other, SCMer Joel Gardner shared… Read more 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 worked on the Manhattan Project,… Read more 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 wrong. First, let’s put “matching… Read more 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 48,000 miles, a 327-ci, 360-hp… Read more 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 big deal across the United… Read more 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.” That’s either bad luck or… Read more 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 principles Let’s start with some… Read more Selling “As Is” or As It Should Be? – An SCMer wrote asking about potential liability if he sells his vintage Formula One car and the buyer is later injured as a result of a defect in the car. He knew he could clearly state that the car was being sold “as is” but wondered if that would be sufficient. He was particularly concerned… Read more Lawsuit Has a Bearing on Porsche Owners – Since a 2001 Porsche Boxster S resides in the “Legal Files” garage, this letter from noted Porsche authority Pete Zimmermann caught my attention: Dear Legal Files: It appears that Porsche has a problem. A really big problem. All because of a bearing, to be exact, an IMS (Intermediate Shaft) bearing. That bearing is an internal… Read more One Solution to Tangled Corvette Case – Last month’s “Legal Files” (December 2013, p. 40) reported on the conflicting ownership claims to the Briggs Cunningham #1 Le Mans Corvette. The claims of plaintiff Dan Mathis Jr. took an unexpected turn when defendant Kevin Mackay’s attorney discovered that Mathis had failed to mention the Corvette when he filed bankruptcy. That put his bankruptcy… Read more Who Owns This Cunningham Corvette? – Howard Coombs At this writing, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee is set to auction off the ownership rights — whatever they might be — of Dan Mathis Jr. in regards to 1960 Corvette VIN 00867S103535. This car is one of the legendary Cunningham Corvettes — one of the three that competed at the 1960 24… Read more Thieves Know the Way to Monterey – Monterey Car Week is the closest we get to automotive nirvana. We have grown accustomed to the week’s three major problems: finding acceptable accommodations, finding enough time to do everything we want to do, and getting decent dinner reservations. This year, for the first time, another problem manifested itself — car thieves have discovered Monterey.… Read more Leasing to Play – Auto leasing hit historic highs in the past couple of years and now finances about 27% of new-car sales. Leasing is particularly popular with the luxury brands — 75% to 80% of new Mercedes-Benzes and about 50% of new BMWs are leased. And specialty collector-car leasing companies such as Putnam Leasing and Premier Financial Services… Read more Tax Liens and “Good” Deals – A Ferrari owner was in deep financial trouble. Business difficulties had left him pretty well broke. Worst of all, he owed the IRS more than $3 million, and an IRS agent was hot on his heels to collect. In need of cash, the owner approached his bank for a loan. Since the IRS had filed… Read more A Hit, a Run and Six Errors – On April 28, Publisher Martin hosted the Round Fendered Volvo Club at his home for a viewing of the movie “Swedish Auto.” A few days later, a club member who drove his Volvo 122 wagon to the affair wrote this interesting account of the demise of his Volvo. “Legal Files” has added comments — with… Read more Good Insurance Is Your Car’s Best Friend – Last month’s “Legal Files” illustrated how loaning your car to another can wreak havoc at the highest levels. This month, we’ll explore some more mundane situations that can be equally unsatisfying. Let’s start with a pretty common situation — you and your friend enter a rally in your 1957 Porsche Speedster. On the second… Read more The $175k Missed Shift – Sports car racing driver David Piper (a former F1 driver who lost a leg below the knee in an accident driving a Porsche 917 during the filming of Steve McQueen’s 1971 film “Le Mans”) recently won an important case in The Royal Courts of Justice in London. The high court awarded damages and legal costs… Read more Seven Easy Ways to Avoid Trouble – Okay, it’s March, but we all know that spring is the real start of the car collecting year. And every new year marks the time for self-improvement resolutions. Here are the top seven for the car collector. I won’t buy a car online without seeing it myself Hands down, the most common complaint I get… Read more Who Owns This Ferrari Testa Rossa? – “Jim” thought he had a smoking deal — $3,650,000 for a 1956 Ferrari 500 Testa Rossa. He thought he could easily flip the TR for a quick profit. All he needed was $3,650,000. So, Jim called his stepbrother-in-law, “Bob,” for financial help. Bob thought the TR deal sounded like a good idea, so he contacted… Read more Is It Time to Give Your Cars to Your Kids? – In the realm of estate planning, 2012 is either a once-in-a-lifetime tax-saving opportunity or the new normal. We won’t know which until after the November 2012 election — and maybe not until next year, after the new Congress has had time to act. Savvy investors aren’t waiting to find out, and they are acting now… Read more Durham Found Guilty of Financial Fraud – Tim Durham (right) arrives at court in Indianapolis in June to hear the verdict in his trial Tim Durham started out as an attorney, then left practice for far greener pastures. Highly ambitious, he reportedly made millions through leveraged buyouts. He was a well-known fixture at collector car auctions. Arriving on his private jet —… Read more So You Want to Sell Your Car at Auction – Finding an auction company that meets your needs is one of the first crucial steps “Legal Files” recently wrote about the 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Roadster that German authorities seized on a claim that it had been stolen from Hans Friedrich Prym in 1945 (June 2012, p. 30). The current owners, who bought the car at the… Read more Other States Sniping at Montana’s Magic Bullet – “Legal Files” has written several times about various techniques that collectors employ to avoid paying sales/use taxes on their collector cars. It’s a big deal, as the sales/use tax rates are typically 6% to 10% of the purchase price of the car. One of the common techniques, which our office uses with many of our… Read more Was this Mercedes War Booty? – In late March, Frans van Haren and Tony Paalman, Dutch car collectors and business partners, put their 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Roadster on display at the Techno Classica car show in Essen, Germany. The two men had bought the car, Lot 147, for $3,767,500, including buyer’s premium, at RM Auctions’ 2011 sale in Monterey, CA. Life… Read more The FBI Crashes an F50—The Sequel – Legal Files previously reported about an incident where FBI agents crashed a Ferrari F50 that they had seized (SCM February 2010, p. 26). As amazing as that scene was, the same F50 has been in the news again, and now we know the rest of story.The F50 was introduced in 1995. At 513 horsepower and… Read more Tim Durham: From Rags to Riches to Ripoff? – He is accused of using over $200m of investor funds to support a lavish lifestyle, including a 70-plus car collection For the past few years, Tim Durham was a well-known fixture at collector car auctions. Arriving on his private jet—and spending freely—he rapidly amassed a significant collection that included Duesenbergs, Ferraris and a Bugatti… Read more Special Tax-Planning Window for Car Collectors – 2010 was a difficult year for tax planning. The federal estate and generation-skipping taxes were repealed, but the gift tax exemption was stuck at $1m to keep people from taking too much advantage. Plus, there was talk all year long about a retroactive reimposition of both taxes. We saw an epic battle over the continuation… Read more Plan Ahead Before Bidding – You may avoid paying sales tax if you ship the car by common carrier to a non-sales-tax state “Legal Files” had a great time at the Scottsdale, AZ, kick-start to the 2011 auction season. Auctions are a popular place to buy your collector car. But to ensure that you are as happy when you get… Read more Long-distance Car Deals Can Burn Money – Internet buyers think that when the car doesn’t meet their fantasy image they can return it for a full refund, just like sale pants at Nordstrom’s 1940 Ford Deluxe Convertible. Just redone by a well-known local shop. Beautifully restored with no expense spared. All aspects are correct and highly-detailed. Undercarriage immaculate, etc., etc. $58,950.Sound pretty… Read more Who Pays When a Mechanic Crashes your Car? – It’s not a good day when your mechanic calls and says, “Uh, I’m not sure how to say this, but I had a little accident with your car.” It’s even worse when your car is a 2006 Ford GT Heritage that had been modified to a “Twin Turbo.” (On the Internet, some claim the value… Read more A McLaren F1’s Rise from the Ashes – In many cases, insurance adjusters say that all they are required to do is fix the damaged parts, which can create a non-matching Frankenstein car Pictures of a McLaren F1 that suffered an engine fire were all over the Internet last year. It was an ugly sight—and saddened every car collector who saw it. “Legal… Read more The Legal Battle over John O’Quinn’s Million-Dollar Cars – He paid world-record prices for some of the world’s rarest automobiles, and he often bought several high-end cars in a single weekend Here’s a car story that has all the ingredients of a soap opera: A billionaire dies in a car crash, and his longtime girlfriend is left out of his will. He owned hundreds… Read more The “Jay Leno Special Edition” that Wasn’t – Our sister publication, Corvette Market, reported the sale of a 2007 “Jay Leno Special Edition” Corvette at the Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach auction in April. The well-optioned, 1,873-mile Corvette was in show-car condition. Leno reportedly “handpicked” the car from a Carson, California Chevrolet dealer. The Corvette was autographed on the valve cover by Leno, carried Jay… Read moreWho Gets the Car – or Boat? – Holding onto the certificate of title until you get paid is no legal protection. Once the buyer pays the broker, that certificate of title is worthlessThe Oregon Court of Appeals recently decided a case of interest to car collectors. The case involved a 29-foot Sea Ray boat, but the legal principles apply equally to collector… Read more
A Car Guy Judge with a Sense of Humor – The judge started his opinion by pointing out that his “analysis will be swifter than Richard Petty’s race-clinching pit stop at the 1981 Daytona 500″Here is an unlikely case of Car Guy v. Car Guy, brought, it just so happens, before a car guy judge. It’s the story of a race car owner and race… Read more
The Nightmare of Litigation – He learned that the broker and seller were going to be in Monterey that August, so he made arrangements to serve them both at The QuailAbout two years ago, a Los Angeles SCMer contacted “Legal Files” hoping for advice about how to get his money back after a long-distance Ferrari deal went bad, very bad.”Ed”… Read more
Who Pays at Russo and Steele? – If the winds were unforeseeable, they would be considered an act of God, and neither the auction nor tent company would be liable for damagesWho would have thought that the wind could blow so hard? That turns out to be the multi-million-dollar question in Scottsdale.The big story from this year’s Arizona auctions was not the… Read more
Can California’s Amnesty Help You With Your Replica? – Maybe, if you have a valid out-of-state title for a modern kit car and can get an SB 100 “free pass”-but don’t try it with a “Born-Again” post-1967 MiniLegal Files” was recently contacted by an SCM subscriber who thought the current economic climate made this the right time to buy a replica 1965 Ford GT40… Read more
When the Government Takes Your Car – It’s pretty easy to conclude that the FBI should have hired a towing company. That the car was wrecked proves the agent was incapable of driving it We all know that federal, state and local governments have broad powers to seize assets from drug dealers and other persons suspected of crimes. Lately, there have been… Read more
“Stolen” Ferrari Saga Heads for Court – Police return Hallingby’s seized Ferrari; he files a $5 million lawsuit against magazines whose advertisements described it as stolenThe December 2008 “Legal Files” reported that 1958 Ferrari 250 PF Cabriolet s/n 0799GT was seized by the Connecticut State Police from the garage of noted car collector and long-time SCMer Barney Hallingby. On October 2, 2009,… Read more
When “Matching Numbers” Don’t Add Up – The seller thought it was enough that the engine was the correct type, built the same time as the Camaro, and that its present number matched the VIN The market places a substantially higher value on “numbers matching” cars, especially in these challenging times. Collectors want the best. Here’s a quick description of what “matching… Read more
The Long-Distance Purchase and the Lawsuit – The court ruled the buyer had opportunities to inspect the car before buying it and to call the seller to ask about the car, and chose to do neitherSuppose you have a not-so-nice collector car you want to sell for big bucks. Your best shot might be to list it on eBay or some other… Read more
Provenance As an Asset: A New Issue for the Taxman – We are addressing provenance created by the owner after a car’s acquisition, and whether the costs involved can be used to reduce the gain on the saleMany collectors are selling cars they have owned for several years, often for substantially more money than they paid for them. In many cases, they purchased these cars years… Read more
Track Day Insurance – High Performance Driver Education coverage insures bad things don’t happen to good people (that’s you) during track daysHere’s a man-bites-dog twist to track day crash liability concerns, resulting from a crash at a Dodge Viper Owners Invitational track event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Dodge sponsors such events periodically, and invites Viper owners to participate.… Read more
Nethercutt Slander Suit Fizzles – To rub salt in the wound, the appellate court rejected the Plaintiff’s arguments that he should get a new trial A few years ago, I was in Los Angeles for a professional conference and had a free day, so I visited the Nethercutt Museum in nearby Sylmar. The museum is owned and operated by The… Read more
When Shipping Your Car Overseas Goes Bad – We were surprised to see that the Ferrari’s title had Rick’s signature forged on it, and the Italian shipping company was listed as the new owner. Dear “Legal Files”: My husband Rick and I, along with our friends, have encountered a bizarre set of circumstances with Shakespearean elements of trust and betrayal, possible fraud and… Read more
How to Avoid Sales Tax, Part II – A better alternative for Californians may be the use of a Montana business entity, because Montana would allow a legal, tax-free registration of the carThe March 2009 “Legal Files” regarding sales tax triggered two helpful responses from attorneys, which suggested the need for a follow-up on this subject of great interest to car collectors.It’s not… Read more
Pink Slips and Red Faces – Take due diligence steps to protect yourself, even though that interferes with the red mist that materializes when you find the collector car of your dreamsMost states issue certificates of title for cars, often referred to as “pink slips” because of their color (in California, at least; other states have different hues). They are considered… Read more
How to Avoid Sales Tax-Legally – Five states do not levy sales taxes-Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. Oregon is the winner hereEver feel like you’re being taxed to death? Everyone feels that way on April 15, but another way to feel the pinch is to buy a collector car and stop by your local DMV to get it licensed.Consider… Read more
Many a Slip Between Dock and Ship – The transporter demanded payment, but when Ric produced his receipt from the broker marked “Paid in Full,” he drove off in a huffSometimes it seems like our old cars spend more time being transported by others than transporting themselves. At first glance, it might seem that having your car buttoned up on a hauler or… Read more
Leno and a Duesie of a Lawsuit – State laws commonly give powerful protection to mechanics who work on cars and garage keepers who store them, recognizing that they often need special powers to help them get paid. Typically, these laws entitle them to retain possession of the car until they have been paid in full. If not paid after a specified minimum… Read more
Who Really Owns the “Stolen” Ferrari? – Various countries take different approaches. Some protect the innocent owner whose property was stolen. Others protect the innocent purchaserActing on a tip from a confidential informant, the Connecticut State Police obtained a warrant to search the garage of a Sharon, Connecticut, collector. Inside, they found a 1958 Ferrari 250 PF Cabriolet, s/n 0799GT, which had… Read more
Red Mist Leads to Blue Monday – No need to get a second inspection, as the dealer had suggested; the first inspector was a pro and had already found 60-plus defectsThe unhappy buyer of a Mercedes 300SL Gullwing recently contacted “Legal Files” with an unfortunate story. A couple years ago, he was having a tough time finding an acceptable Gullwing. He consulted… Read more
The Spyder and the Fly. – Armed with a camera, they decided they could earn eternal YouTube fame by videotaping “Gibby” urinating on the Ferrari{vsig}2008-10_2238{/vsig}It was a nice day in Ontario, Canada, so a Ferrari owner decided to take a top-down drive in his 360 Spyder. During his motoring, he decided to make a stop to run an errand at a… Read more
Buy or Sell in Haste, Repent at Leisure – In the spirit of the 20th anniversary of SCM, “Legal Files” has compiled a list of the top 20 traps that sellers and buyers of collector cars can fall into. I’ll split the list in half, with ten each for sellers and buyers. The Sellers’ Top 10 When you’re the seller, your two primary legal… Read more
Reality Bites Hulk Hogan – Hogan signed his son Nick’s driver’s license application, and will likely be held liable for injuries attributable to Nick’s negligence {vsig}2008-8_2213{/vsig} Hulk Hogan and his family are currently defending a multi-million-dollar lawsuit that arose from his son Nick’s crash of his modified Toyota Supra. The crash left his passenger and friend, John Graziano, hospitalized with… Read more
In VIN Veritas – As he figures out the GT350 is rebodied, the shop owner is overheard by a CHP officer, who begins an inquiry{vsig}2008-7_2200{/vsig}What do you do with your authentic, vintage Shelby GT350 when it’s so rusty it’s beyond repair? Some Shelby owners think the answer is pretty simple-just rebody it. But that can easily lead to confusion,… Read more
He Won the Bid, Not the BMW – If you’ve been tracking the legal analysis, you probably think the buyer is going to get the BMW. Sorry, you’re mistaken about that{vsig}2008-6_2188{/vsig}BMW’s new M3 sport sedan offers very impressive performance in an appealing package. At an MSRP of approximately $70,000, they fly out of dealers’ showrooms, and there have been reports of dealers selling… Read more
When “As Is” Isn’t Enough – Just inside the statute of limitations, James was served with a lawsuit claiming fraud, misrepresentation, and breach of warranty Here’s another true story. We’ve given the subjects fake names, but the story is otherwise accurate. Let’s call our dealer this month James. He had been doing quite well selling collector cars in the Northeast. Over… Read more
When Title Tricks Won’t Wash – California extradited the Titles Unlimited president from Alabama. He was convicted and spent a year in jailSay you hit the proverbial collector car lottery and find a 1957 Porsche Speedster that has been sitting in a barn for 40 years. The only problem is that the farmer lost the title 38 years ago. Like most… Read more
“Fun Run” Anything But – The owner’s friend wrecked his car, but the owner’s policy pays the claim, his premiums go up, and possibly his policy gets cancelled {vsig}2008-3_2149{/vsig} Ever borrow a friend’s valuable car and worry that something bad might happen? Here’s a case where it did. As usual after the completion of the competitive runs at a recent… Read more
Carrera GT Crash Hits a Nerve – The ink wasn’t even dry when the email inboxes, telephone lines, mailbox, and other forms of communication got red hot The “Legal Files” column in the December 2007 issue of SCM, which discussed the $4.5m settlement of the Carrera GT fatal crash lawsuit, hit a nerve within the SCM community. The ink wasn’t even dry… Read more
Faith in System Restored (and also a Car) – An SCM subscriber, whom we’ll call Bill, has been a car guy for a long time and has owned a Ferrari Daytona, a 289 Cobra, and a 1960 Jaguar XK 150. After he had owned the 3.8-liter drophead coupe for about 20 years, he decided it needed a restoration. He was referred to a restoration… Read more
Carrera GT Crash Settled for $4.5 Million – The attorney points out that the typical SCM subscriber, a car enthusiast who holds fast cars and racetracks dear, will never make it onto this jury {vsig}2007-12_2108{/vsig} Last summer, “Legal Files” reported about a lawsuit resulting from the fatal crash of a Porsche Carrera GT at a club track day at the California Speedway (June… Read more
Where’s the Video, Dietrich? – Enzo case takes another bizarre twist, and Porsche enlists industry allies to make what could be bitter lemonadeThis month we revisit two old friends-one the Pacific Coast Highway Enzo crash, and the second the Porsche Lemon Law special.Last summer’s big car story was the Ferrari Enzo crash in Malibu, California. Stefan Eriksson crashed his Enzo… Read more
Sell Now or Leave the Ferrari to the Kids? – The IRS can’t tax you after you’re gone, so they tax you on the way outLast month, Publisher Martin made some insightful observations about the current state of the collector car market and how collectors should act in (September, “Time to Buy, Sell or Hold?” p. 10). I won’t question Keith’s views of the market,… Read more
Porsche Lemon Nets Owner $266k-and the 911 – The service advisor explained that the computer did not find any error codes, so there couldn’t be anything wrongWisconsin attorney Bruce Tammi was a car guy from when he was a kid. His all-time favorites were Porsches, and he owned two of them-a 1978 911 Turbo and a 1999 Carrera. But one night his barn… Read more
China Rally to Nowhere – The participants arrive at the hotel in Hong Kong and express their displeasure. The organizer breaks down in tears and runs off. Now what?{vsig}2007-8_2042{/vsig}If you’ve owned collector cars for long, you’ll agree that one of the biggest challenges is finding opportunities to use them. You can drive your Porsche Speedster to the office once in… Read more
Here Comes the Judge – Last month, “Legal Files” analyzed the six shots fired by Barrett-Jackson in its lawsuit against Judge David Clabuesch, the unhappy seller of the Ramchargers Hemi ‘Cuda that brought $300,000 at the Scottsdale auction in January. Judge Clabuesch has responded by emptying his own legal pistol, filing a five-count counterclaim against Barrett-Jackson and an accompanying Third… Read more