Last May, Mecum Auctions sold a brand-new, 2017 Ford GT to the highest bidder at its annual Indianapolis auction event, raising all manner of questions as to how – as in, how is it that the rare, carbon-fiber supercar, which buyers are required by Ford to keep for a minimum of two years, has ended up on the auction block? At the time, Mecum said only that a judge had okayed the sale, without divulging any details about the ruling.
Now, Fox News claims to have uncovered the specifics of the court case, in which Ford filed for a Temporary Restraining Order to keep the Ford GT from being sold at the auction. On May 18th, Judge Heather Welch of the State of Indiana Commercial Court ruled in favor of Mecum Auctions, permitting the car to appear at Mecum Indianapolis, on account of the fact that the car was consigned not by the original owner, but the second owner.
It was a man by the name of John W. Miller who reportedly bought the 2017 Ford GT supercar from Ford initially, having been approved for ownership after undergoing Ford’s intense buyers’ application process. He sold the car months later, on May 11th, to Michael J. Flynn of Florida’s Hollywood Wheels for $1.1 million, who then consigned the car to Mecum.
Since Flynn was the second owner, Judge Welch ruled, “Ford [would] not reasonably be able to show that Mecum tortuously interfered with contract between Miller and Ford” – that is, the contract that specified that Miller was obligated to keep the Ford GT for a minimum of 48 months. Flynn’s purchase of the car was similarly okay, legally speaking, as he was “under no obligation to search the records of Miller’s ownership of the 2017 Ford GT outside of the representations made by Miller,” in Judge Welch’s view.
She added that Ford Motor Company, which says it was aware as early as March, 2018 of Miller’s intent to sell the car, could have taken action weeks prior to try and prevent the original sale. Thus, the automaker’s attempts to place a Temporary Restraining Order on the car failed, and Mecum Auctions sold the Ford GT for a total of $1,815,000 including auction fees.
Ford is nonetheless seeking damages from Mecum Auctions and Michael J. Flynn in the very same court system, Fox News reports. The initial case management conference between Ford and Mecum is scheduled for August 17th.
This is, of course, not the first time Ford has taken someone to court over failing to uphold the conditions put forth by the Ford GT buyers’ agreement. Last year, the automaker filed a lawsuit against WWE superstar John Cena – and a separate lawsuit against the dealer that purchased his car – for divesting himself of the Le Mans-winning supercar after just a month or so of ownership. Ford settled both lawsuits out of court earlier this year.
Comments
Ford you are STUPID! Once a person or corporation SELLS something, they no longer own it. Ford should go after the original purchaser for damages, not MECUM or the new owner. This judge is really smart. FORD in case you don’t know what happened it is called capitalism, maybe a concept you are unfamiliar with.
PORSCHE—-there is no substitute!
Not too long ago on a brisk Florida winter morning (streets were empty…the new year has begun), I pulled up at a light (an on-ramp to I-75) next to some socialist flamer in a P100D in satanic black, blasting some atheist M&M sheiss on his lousy stereo….I revved the engine in my beautiful Mahogany Panamera (matches my crucifix) and cranked up Wonder on my Burmester stereo….and got ready for the light to turn green and clearly the atheist wanted to race…..by the time I hit 70 mph he was already reading my license plate number. Fastest car in the world my sss….and when his speed limiter kicked in my Panamera was still 60 mph below its top end. Clearly he forgot about the sensitivity of his batteries to ambient temperature….plus the Ludicrous mode takes 30 minutes or more to initiate on a cool day.
Here in South Florida where we get e-juice from radioactive uranium that produces nasty waste, even a Ram MegaCab is better for the environment than a TESLA.
I’m still waiting for any TESLA to post a better time around the Nurburgring than my factory stock VW Golf. What a slow piece of sheiss the Model S is…..the only thing it is ridiculously fast in is killing. Three teenagers dead in two weeks…and that’s just in the US….even the Pintos weren’t that bad. People are dying in TESLAs at an alarming rate….considering the automotive class that the Model S is in. Most of those deaths could have been prevented if the victims were driving the MB S-Class instead, (Model S’s direct and biggest competition based on Consumer Reports) even if crash conditions were identical.
TESLA FATALITY RATE = ONE A WEEK (or worse)
Finally, Musk neglects to tell folks not to crash their TESLAs when the batteries get very hot….even a small side impact could set them off (like the kids in Ft. Lauderdale found out)…..and the TESLA death trap is vulnerable from all directions because the Huuuuge battery takes up the entire floor area.