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 […]
Author: John Draneas
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. 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. This month’s “You Write, We Read” on p. 20 is full of SCMer advice on whether Draneas should restore his Jag.
Who Really Owns the “Stolen” Ferrari?
Various countries take different approaches. Some protect the innocent owner whose property was stolen. Others protect the innocent purchaser Acting 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 […]
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 defects The 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
When Title Tricks Won’t Wash
California extradited the Titles Unlimited president from Alabama. He was convicted and spent a year in jail Say 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 […]