tmracing62
06-19-2005, 02:54 AM
Nearly three years after I sold it, my Corvette was seized by the sheriff this weekend at an event at Bandimere. Trying to coordinate everyone was like herding cats. I’ll spare you the details, but this guy is the most irresponsible person and incredible liar you can possibly imagine. And has a threatening, nuclear temper. It has been a serious legal battle, filled with lies, anger and deception for the last year and I did everything possible to solve it so this would not have to happen. There’s even a screensaver being sent around of it being hauled away.
The reason for this post is to inform. Learn from my mistakes. We had a perfectly good and legal civil contract, but since he was not to take the car until fully paid for, I left out any repossession procedures and fees. Bad, bad, bad mistake. While still paying for it he took it to be tech’ed for the 2002 season. Bad, bad, bad mistake. It never came back and while you might think I could have gotten him for theft or something, since this was a civil contract, all I could do was seek a Judgment for his breaking the contract. He didn’t do anything criminal at least according to the law. After months of antics that the court just seemed to ho-hum about, I finally got a Judgment. My attorney discounts to me and it was still thousands to get it this far. If they still won’t pay, you have to exercise the Judgment by liens or garnishments or whatever. You pay for all of it. If they hide assets you have to find them. No one in the system is going to help you and you’d better not break any laws trying to do anything. They have all the rights. The list of evasive maneuvers is huge and this guy found a lot of them.
It took dozens of people and weeks to plan the seizure. It was practically a military op. I will recover those costs though (except the attorney), but if an attorney does not do it right, you’ll get burned there too. But here’s the kicker. If he can redeem the car by paying the Judgment in 10 days, he gets it all back and I am still out the attorney fees. If he can’t redeem it, the car goes to auction. It’s not mine. He cheated, I still lose the car. And he gets any money that exceeds his debt when the car sells. That means he could have driven the car for three seasons and get all of his money or even more back. And I lose the car. Justice really does seem to be blind.
So I am going to bid up to a little over what he owes. If I get it, I get the money and the car back. Most professional auction buyers know not to bid on something like this, but another racer might. I’ve asked that no one do that and if they are really interested to talk to me later and everyone seems to be on my side.
The lesson is don’t sell anything you are not prepared to lose without a complete legal contract. It’s a huge red flag if someone resists. It is not an insult to protect both parties and everyone has to understand that this covers everyone, not just one or the other parties.
This car is so fine and I miss it. It’s been like someone else pawing at an old favorite lover ever since this azzwhole took it. It is deadly consistent and you can take your hands off the wheel and it’ll find its own way home. It won all sorts of awards including the Society of Automotive Engineers Best Engineered in class. I may go mouse around in brackets for a while if I get it back.
The reason for this post is to inform. Learn from my mistakes. We had a perfectly good and legal civil contract, but since he was not to take the car until fully paid for, I left out any repossession procedures and fees. Bad, bad, bad mistake. While still paying for it he took it to be tech’ed for the 2002 season. Bad, bad, bad mistake. It never came back and while you might think I could have gotten him for theft or something, since this was a civil contract, all I could do was seek a Judgment for his breaking the contract. He didn’t do anything criminal at least according to the law. After months of antics that the court just seemed to ho-hum about, I finally got a Judgment. My attorney discounts to me and it was still thousands to get it this far. If they still won’t pay, you have to exercise the Judgment by liens or garnishments or whatever. You pay for all of it. If they hide assets you have to find them. No one in the system is going to help you and you’d better not break any laws trying to do anything. They have all the rights. The list of evasive maneuvers is huge and this guy found a lot of them.
It took dozens of people and weeks to plan the seizure. It was practically a military op. I will recover those costs though (except the attorney), but if an attorney does not do it right, you’ll get burned there too. But here’s the kicker. If he can redeem the car by paying the Judgment in 10 days, he gets it all back and I am still out the attorney fees. If he can’t redeem it, the car goes to auction. It’s not mine. He cheated, I still lose the car. And he gets any money that exceeds his debt when the car sells. That means he could have driven the car for three seasons and get all of his money or even more back. And I lose the car. Justice really does seem to be blind.
So I am going to bid up to a little over what he owes. If I get it, I get the money and the car back. Most professional auction buyers know not to bid on something like this, but another racer might. I’ve asked that no one do that and if they are really interested to talk to me later and everyone seems to be on my side.
The lesson is don’t sell anything you are not prepared to lose without a complete legal contract. It’s a huge red flag if someone resists. It is not an insult to protect both parties and everyone has to understand that this covers everyone, not just one or the other parties.
This car is so fine and I miss it. It’s been like someone else pawing at an old favorite lover ever since this azzwhole took it. It is deadly consistent and you can take your hands off the wheel and it’ll find its own way home. It won all sorts of awards including the Society of Automotive Engineers Best Engineered in class. I may go mouse around in brackets for a while if I get it back.