[1]When it comes to rare, classic, and valuable cars, the matter of who owns said car can be quite a sticky issue. Possession, it is said, is 9/10ths of the law, but when multiple parties bearing multiple, plausible stories get involved, things can get really ugly, really fast. [2]
So it is unfortunate that a moment of triumph for Lance Miller, whose late father Chip made it his quest to reunite the three Briggs Cunningham Corvettes, has turned sour with word of other claims of ownership for the “missing” car. Autoweek [3] reports that the courts are now stepping in to resolve the issue of who owns the Briggs Cunningham Corvette No. 1.
Uncovered this summer in a Florida warehouse owned by his late father [4], Richard Carr did a VIN check and discovered that he had a very rare and valuable Corvette on his hands. After contacting Miller, Carr was paid $75,000 for the heap of a Corvette. Miller then flipped the Corvette Mackay, and all was set for the car to be officially revealed at the Corvettes at Carlisle Show late last month.
But instead, police showed up with Dan Mathis Jr., who holds the title to the Corvette which he says was given to him by Jerry Moore. Mathis claims the Corvette was stolen, though no police report has been found, and Mathis tried to seize the Corvette. But the car could not (and as far as we know, has not) been found, having been spirited away prior to the unveiling. Mathis is now suing Miller, the Borough of Carlisle, and pretty much everyone else, claiming Carlisle police helped Miller hide the Corvette.
This is one of those unfortunate circumstances where multiple parties no doubt feel cheated, and its a matter best left to the courts to decide, ’cause it could get ugly(er)…