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 […]

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 […]

“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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 The federal estate and generation-skipping taxes were repealed, but the gift tax exemption was stuck at $1m to keep people from taking too much advantage.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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]