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Summer 2010, Featured Articles, Columns
Rare 1954 Ferrari Sparks Fight
In divorce, it always the kids that suffer, but here's a case of a custody battle over a Ferrari.
In 1954 only six Ferrari 375s were built, and among them, only four are thought to remain. One of the four is currently creating an exotic car custody battle of sorts, generating enough attention that I heard about it on NPR over coffee this morning! Yes, National Public Radio is even chatting about this Ferrari flare-up.
An Ohio judge is set to decide the fate of the beautiful 1954 Ferrari 375 any minute-whether she will remain in Italy with 84-year-old Belgian race car driver and collector Jacques Swaters, or go to a Cincinnati woman whose father purchased it in the 1950s.
Why does the woman feel entitled to this sports car, it is after all, among the rarest race cars in existence. Is she batty?
The woman is Kristi Kleve Lawson, of Ohio, the car was reportedly stolen from her father in 1988. Mr. Kleve purchased the Ferrari 375 Plus in 1958 for $25,000. The legal fees of this battle have surely surpassed the original investment of this exotic Ferrari!
Swaters is in possession of the 54 Ferrari 375 in Italy, and the Kleeve family in Ohio is in possession of the title and spare parts. Swaters says he bought the car in 1990 and completely restored it.
Things get complicated here, as Kleve claims her father tracked the car down to Belgium, after two Ohio men were convicted of the auto theft. Interpol became involved, convincing Belgium authorities that the rare Ferrari was stolen, and it was eventually released to Swaters. Swaters says a trader sold it to him for $100,000, and that he paid Kleeve more than $600,000 for the car, and that Kleeve cashed the check.
Kristi Kleeve Lawson is now claiming that her father never received any money for the stolen Ferrari, and that any signature on a check signed by her father must have been forged.
Note that this Ferrari 375 is valued at around $15 million dollars now, which would be quite a sum for a broke Ohio family. It will be interesting to see how this case wraps up, seems like the Hatfields and McCoys.
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