I had a nice conversation with him some years ago. He was a very interesting guy as well as a legendary Atty. RIP
He was an impressive person indeed. Someone close to him ( Mechanic) and I were having lunch a few days ago (2 days before his passing), and we talked about John's passions in life: Law, Philantrophy and Cars. He was a strong Democrat with a big heart. One of his few faults killed him, unfortunately. He was known for not being a good driver. He wrecked several cars, and repair bills usually run in the Teens of thoud=sands...what a pitty.
I did not read about it until this morning and I'm shocked. Back in the early 90's when he was litigating the breast implant and asbestos case's I was working in court reporting. I was delivering and picking up court documents and supplying law firm's with notarized documents and O'Quinn was a huge client of ours. I rode the elevator with him one day and introduced myself to him and mentioned the company I represented, he was very genuine and nice to me. "Big Bad John" will truelly be missed by friend and foe. I find it very difficult to grasp his lack of concern for not only his life but his passenger's life by not buckling up!! As most of you know I'm currently attending a police academy and I hope to focus on traffic safety, hopefully with DPS, and this loss cement's even more my desire to persue that area. RIP John
http://search.har.com/engine/6-Shadder-Way-Houston-TX-77019_HAR92515677.htm His house is already on the market, 6.5 mil.
Just saw this, apparently some of the collection will be auctioned off.... http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7258503&rss=rss-ktrk-article-7258503 HOUSTON (KTRK) -- It's a prized collection of hundreds of classic cars, some of them irreplaceable. It was the pride of a prominent Houston attorney killed in a car accident last year And now we know where that collection may be headed -- the auction block. During his life, attorney John O'Quinn made vast sums of money on personal injury cases. A lot of that money was given back to the community. But much of it was invested into his own treasure chest -- his impressive car collection. O'Quinn and his common-law wife, Darla Lexington, spent the last 10 years assembling one of the most fabulous collections of classic cars. At 800 plus, it was arguably one of the best in the world. In an interview with Eyewitness News, O'Quinn talked about his vision for a museum that would house it. "The car is a big part of American history, transportation, the car is a big part," he said. "Right now, kids don't know about these cars." But O'Quinn would not live to see his dream. In October, his life was cut short after a deadly crash on Allen Parkway. What's more, the impressive collection is now being broken off into pieces. Several cars have already been auctioned off, much to the dismay of his wife. Lexington's attorney Jimmy Williamson says it's a matter of economics. "The estate is on solid ground, but, of course, there are settlements out there," he said. "There are claims against the estate. There are debts, just like any person who has assets has debts and all of those have to be accommodated and dealt with in a responsible fashion." While it's not to say a museum won't happen, Williamson says it certainly won't be on the scale they had hoped for. Williamson says Lexington is fully supportive of the executor's efforts to keep the estate on solid footing. More cars from the collection will go on sale next month at an auction in Florida and some more a few weeks after that.
We'd seen his Bugatti EB110 at a recent event.....interesting. That's the first time I'd seen her referred to as "common law wife" although she is the "manager" of the entity that maintains the cars...
Someone should keep us updated on this "auction" and when and what cars are going to be sold... Please
+1 I'd like to know when/where they're going to be auctioned (not that I could swing one of those Duesenberg Model Js!). I would imagine the upcoming Keels & Wheels would be a good/convenient venue. Any consigned yet?
BELOW IS A LIST OF CARS KNOWN TO BE IN THE JOHN O'QUINN COLLECTION - not necessarily a list of those up for consignment yet. >8^) ER Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
...and as if this page wasn't long enough, here are some photos from inside the collection that were shared on another forum. >8^) ER Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Last few. Had no idea there was an attachment limit here. >8^) ER Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Interesting list... Apparently he bought the 348GT Competizione from Ferrari of Atlanta? 2007 was the purchase date. That was a very rare car. And the 575 was the one his employee stole for a time, they went to check on it, and it "wasn't there".. Lady Valeria's shop supplied some of the equipment to that Warehouse facility....a shame about the liquidation..... "Dying in recessionary times" does indeed cause some problems.....geez, what a statement! Where's SkizoAce, did you buy his house????
It looks like RM is set to auction off 55 of his cars at Amelia Island, then another 150 in Ft. Lauderdale according to this AutoWeek article..... http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100202/CARNEWS/100209971
article in today's Houston Chronicle talking about the car and the museum he wanted. whats his wife thinking???
link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6865370.html sounds like she's getting rid of the cars as part of the grieving process/saying goodbye to him. sad, she may end up regretting it. I wonder how many of these cars end up in Leno or Ralph Lauren's collections.
You missed a part of the article. These cars are being sold because O'Quinn owes $45 million to a group of former clients he overcharged. Dale
If he was a Billionaire would'nt $45 mil be a drop in the bucket and assets wouldnt need to be liquidated to make payment?
yeah, something isn't adding up. I saw the part about the $$ owed to the clients and thought the same thing.
Nothing is a "drop in the bucket" when its an estate settlement. Even in Texas, sadly one's estate is assessed "death taxes"--and if its not set up correctly, 45% is a big number. I'm certainly not an estate lawyer but the couple estates with which I've been involved suggest that executors often have very different obligations and motivations than those for whom they work and beneficiaries. The article also suggests the cars were in a foundation but critical are many factors not known: as in how was it set up and who truly controls it. Also, without knowing details, how does his common law wife figure into all of this--obviously she's not the executrix of the estate. That says something there. Is she the beneficiary of the assets, only a portion of income or gets a simply cash payout with the estate instead benefitting another or a charity? Point is nothing is simple in death, except you'll not reap any further enjoyment from that which you've lived. So be prudent but also be certain to live and enjoy as much as possible while you are still able... and drive your Ferrari often, and always like you stole it.
Anyone have a list of Ferraris he owned? Museums setup by individuals often don't last all that long - just take a look at what happened to Harrah's... That said, I breezed through what was left of Harrah's collection in downtown Reno a few years ago, and even though gutted, it was still worth a look. Don't know much about big time individual collections, but do wonder how this stacks up against Leno's hoard, and what other individuals have gargantuan collections out there in garage-land...
