I wasn't there, but it seems like you're looking back with rose-tinted glasses. There are plenty of known examples of cheating, and Enzo himself was certainly not an innocent. But I understand the sentiment. Onno
I wonder what I as an European should or would care about what an Ohio judge rules? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Well, for one thing the judge could order the car be placed into the custody of the court, and if not presented it would be subject to the court order and could be impounded. If the judge rules that the car is stolen and is the property of Kleve's heirs, then the it could end up treated as such and per international law impounded and returned to the U.S. Seems to me, and I'm not an expert by any means, but it appeared that Swatters wanted to clear up this title issue and probably thought that he had paid what was due on the car and wanted to get the remaining parts. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt here and not going into the issues of changing chassis numbers or anything like that. Now he finds himself in a bind since he may well have been taken and some if not all of the money he spent may not all have gone to Kleve and he may not have clear title to the car. The documents that he has are what he has based his case on and he doesn't want to produce them. It is very disconcerting that he apparently is not complying with the discovery process. The U.S. courts treat this very seriously. If you don't comply with discovery, the court assumes that you have something to hide and could very easily issue a summary judgement against Swatters. Not only would he lose the case he has filed, but the ownership of the car could easily be awarded to the other side in the countersuit. While gaining posession of the car is another matter, it would be a disaster for him to lose this. To gain posession, the courts in Europe will get involved, but as was noted earlier, the car likely would have gone back to Kleve even before it was restored, had the chassis number not been misrepresented at the time. Not sure what will happen here. Usually the courts are willing to give respondents more time if they need it and ask for it, given a good excuse, but when the court starts to compel discovery they can get pretty testy. This could get even more interesting.
Good analysis, and the issue of altering serial numbers is indeed squarely before the court. I think the serial number related actions will remove the good faith assumption once and for all, and I think Swaters has a huge legacy risk, and a huge headline risk. That is one of the reasons that I hope to meet with him asap. Once this matter gathers more steam in court, and I can assure you that it will, his credibility and his reputation will be in shambles. Based on what I have seen, it will not be undeserved. I still hope he takes me up on my offer to meet at a hotel of his choice in Europe, soon. *
Jaz - My glasses are transparent, and I was there buddy with the best of them. Sometimes we were bad boys on the track, screwed alot of women - some married ... smoked big cigars , drove in races that we knew defied death - but NONE of us would have been involved in criminal behavior. Jacques is an old world man, from the world of all of us from the 50's . I am at 78 now, Jacques is 85, I can't imagine Jacques needing to be involved in something that could put him out of his last race know as a cheater. Even if you think NOW it's ok behavior. Makes no sense to me. I've read it all, and it all makes no sense. AM PS: Did everyone see Stirlings interview on BBC 's Hardtalk ?
If you were a European named Jacques Swaters, you should care, since you filed the case in the Ohio court and submitted yourself to be bound by the judge's decision.
Update on Ohio Court Case Per earlier post, Kleve has set a hearing on Dec 16, 2010 due to Swaters' over 90 day delay and non-compliance with discovery. On 11.24.10 Swaters did "respond" to the discovery with some "answers" to the interrogatories, and 316 "documents". The words are in quotes because 1) Swaters has offered a Confidentiality Agreement to prevent release or publication of things he claims are "proprietary", and 2) there is no substance in most of what was turned over, or answered. For example, 1) Swaters provided ZERO backup or extra documentation about the payments he alleges his partner made, 2) Swaters provided ZERO originals (or access to them by our experts) as to the alleged Powers of Attorney and alleged Settlement Contract, 3) Swaters provided ZERO of his alleged partnership agreements, 4) Swaters provided ZERO of the years of restoration receipts, 5) Swaters provided ZERO factory documents as to build sheets or other proof of confusion with serial numbers, 6) Swaters produced ZERO FIA documents when the car was raced by his partner, 7) Swaters produced ZERO of his acquistion documents for when he bought the car, 8) etc. In other words, what has been done is that Swaters has furnished 316 pages of "fluff". Most of the 316 pages are magazine and book excerpts. I will post the request for discovery documents so you can see how detailed it is and how focused the Kleve side is, and you can decide for yourself why would Swaters delay and dodge with his non-responsive actions. One would think that since Swaters is coming to court claiming he has a contract, then certainly he would be timely in providing it and in providing full proof of payment, as well as all the other requested documents. The Dec 16 hearing is still set to bring Swaters' lack of responsiveness to the Judge's attention. *
Below is the first discovery request. It is 10 pages, so I will post in groups. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
More of the discovery request. (Page 5 - 8) Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I could not agree more. Having a proper chain of title to this 1954 Ferrari 375 Plus 0384/AM is necessary, and Ohio is the ONLY place to do it, and Swaters started the process, apparently assuming his opponent now lacked any means to fight. (Note Swaters could have and should have done this in 2005, when he claims he first learned of the PARTS and first learned that the Kleve heirs maintained ownership. Instead of coming to Ohio, Swaters apparently hired some Atlanta attorney to send a demand for an undisclosed "client", and then did nothing.) Essentially, Swaters is facing the same problem that any thief would face when he tries to sell or fence a well-known piece of stolen art or stolen collectible - he can't prove title to it, title in the legal sense of the word. Just because Swaters had a partner on the deal will not improve his chances of success, nor lessen the requirements of a valid signed contract with the OWNER or with the OWNER's designated representative to enter into such a contract, and proof of full payment consistent with that contract. THAT is why any European such as Swaters should be very concerned with what the Ohio Judge rules. THAT is also why many Ferrari owners, and owners of any valuable car, are keenly watching this case, to see if the basic rights of a property owner are respected in Europe as well as here in the USA, especially by those USA owners who send their cars for work, or to rally, over to Europe. *
Perhaps all this makes a little more sense now - he may have been trying to wrap up affairs, even on a subconscious level, and knew 0384 was one big loose end in his life. RIP If only 0384 can eventually find peace as well.
Jacques lived a long and full life - with tour de force may he RIP . He'll be in the sky with the best of the ''Old Guards'' - Enzo , Von Tripp, Fangio, Gonzales, Hill . There will be someone else waiting for him , a tall thin man - Karl Kleeve . I don't think there is anything subconscious about trying to mop up the concealment of Kleeve's stolen property - of course it was a loose end , a Big one . It is a pity after 6 months of court ordered demand for answers and documents Jacques exits with far less than the transparency we'd expect. He had a chance to reckon with this - and he didn't. 0384AM will survive everyone , all of us - it's eternally in peace , an immortal iron race horse with well defined history that Jacques knew all to well and had archived in ''the bunker''. That Ferrari, a treasure to each of the custodians in different ways will be re-restored, driven, used and questioned - but the men that acted in the 0384's ''loose end'' will be judged in another way - each going down in history famously or infamously . (Photo attached taken September 24, 2010, moved out of the Maranello Museum ) Image Unavailable, Please Login
On September 24, 2010 I saw the 375 Plus in the Museum. 0384AM was undergoing metallurgical test on the chassis as sections of the frame had had paint removed for examinations, and had not been repainted . Those sections were numbered in black marker. I asked to see the engine, and after some pleading I was shown the original motor ( not the replica one). After I departed, I ate at Cavallino , drove pass the Museum and 0384AM was in the parking lot being loaded on an independent flat bed truck . I questioned the Ferrari employees why it was leaving so fast after I had examined it. They told me 0384AM was 1. owned by the Ferrari Museum 2. was part of their permanent collection 3. was going away from the museum for some time now. Image Unavailable, Please Login
...cut to a shot from Raiders of the Lost Ark, worker pushing crate into the depths of a gigantic warehouse to be hidden away forever... Very curious statement by the factory.
And next to Kleeve will be another tall gentleman named Jim Kimberly, and next to him one Luigi Chinetti, both very familiar with 0384AM, and both with the expression "WTF?" Hopefully this matter can be discretely worked out such that it spares the Swaters additional embarassment and complications. "The men that acted in the 0384's ''loose end'' will be judged in another way." Agreed. I do not think Swaters' managers or handlers are looking at the big picture, based on what has been done, and not done, so far. Maybe that will all change as Swaters' passing, may he RIP, will remind them that the only thing one leaves this earth with is one's honor and reputation, and 0384AM is a very loose end. *
