Press release :shelby automobiles sued

[MRGEORGE077]

SHELBY AUTOMOBILES SUED FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT, BAD FAITH,
FRAUD, NEGLIGENCE, AND CONVERSION

Los Angeles, California (September 19, 2012)- Stephen Becker Automotive Group, Inc. has filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Shelby Automobiles, Inc., a subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International, Inc. Stephen Becker Automotive Group alleges in its complaint that Shelby Automobiles defrauded it by inducing it to enter into a Cobra dealership agreement and then, when the dealership invested its capital and ordered several Cobras, pocketing the dealership’s money. Stephen Becker Automotive company spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for high-ticket Cobra vehicles, but Shelby Automobiles shelved the orders and did not produce the ordered vehicles for years, and in some cases not at all. Stephen Becker Automotive also alleges that Shelby Automobiles then tried to force it out of business so that Shelby Automotive could sell the ordered vehicles to other parties for even more money.

The Law Offices of Michael A. Brewer filed the lawsuit on behalf of Stephen Becker
Automotive. They can be reached at 2020 Main Street, Suite 900, Irvine, CA 92614, or at (949) 679-6060

[ERA Chas]

Wondered why we haven't seen any more frequent updates of Becker's inventory with upwardly adjusted prices.
Sure do miss 'em.

[Igofastr]

Brings a smile to my face...

[rodneym]

Isn't his dealership the biggest for Cobras?
Never a dull moment.
Is it just the Cobras or does Shelby have these issues with their Mustangs?

[fordracing65]

Makes my deal with the Kirkham's that much better. I hope it works out for Stephen, he seems like a stand up guy.

[computerworks]

A really strange piece of litigation.

...Stephen Becker Automotive company spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for high-ticket Cobra vehicles, but Shelby Automobiles shelved the orders and did not produce the ordered vehicles for years, and in some cases not at all.

Based on all of Mr. Becker's posts here on ClubCobra, it would seem that the one thing he had plenty of....was cars.

[vector1]

Originally Posted by computerworks

A really strange piece of litigation.



Based on all of Mr. Becker's posts here on ClubCobra, it would seem that the one thing he had plenty of....was cars.

maybe he was selling 'futures'.

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by vector1

maybe he was selling 'futures'.

A 'car' Ponzi scheme??

[Steve Cassani]

Stephan Becker Automotive Group and Shelby Automobiles Inc. agreed to extend the then current contract for inventory and sales on March 31, 2011. Since neither party would have reached such an agreement had the period leading to March, 2011 included the fraud and malfeasance alleged in the suit and the time since March, 2011 and September 19, 2012 is not enough to allow Shelby to "fail to produce vehicles for years", I am left to wonder what is at issue here.

Posters are correct to note Becker's long history of letting visitors to this site know he has cars to sell. His advertisements, presented as posts much like this one and any other, were prompted by the numbers of cars recently received, a novel color combination and other inducements. All this seems the usual marketing practice and not the tactic that would appeal to a dealer who does not know when and if he will have a next car to sell. Nor does Becker represent the opportunity to purchase a car from him as a dealer might, anticipating bankruptcy. His prices accord with commonly read figures for what a dealer claims his product is worth on the market. His claims to create an opportunity to purchase a car before planned price increases take effect suggest again a dealer who plans to be in business weeks, months or even years from today.

Maybe the fault is in the report and over the next few days we'll learn the situation is sort of what was reported.

[kayakjack]

Steve,

Yeah, there is much "he said, she said" here. Hard to tell what the facts are.

The main thing I would like to know now is... Are there any well meaning customers for Shelby cars who have placed deposits for cars which have not yet been delivered? If they do not have them, has the anticipated delivery date been extended? How much?

I am not saying this is a problem here. However, there have been similar instances in the past where well meaning customers have been hung out to dry.

Jack

[Steve Cassani]

kayakjack,

This history you speak to - deposits for Car D being applied to the cost to produce Car A with Cars B and C waiting on the cash flows of future deposits - ended when Shelby made Amy Boylan the Chief Operating Officer of Shelby Automobiles, Inc. I believe this occurred in early 2004. Up to then, the company was, roughly, a pyramid scheme.

There have not been any public reports as to how Amy solved the problem. My guess is her previous successes in private business afforded Amy contacts who were willing, with her support, to loan Shelby enough cash to assure future solvency. With the investors paid, Shelby Automobiles slowly established a firm financial basis that in turn allowed Shelby to accept deposits in good faith. Any other outcome would have brought Shelby Automobiles into bankruptcy, a condition Amy avoided, but just barely. How Shelby won Amy's willingness to take on his problem may, if told, turn out to be the stuff of legend and every bit the equal of his sales pitch to Lee Iacocca.

Amy has since moved on. To the best of my knowledge, Shelby's contract with Ford to produce modified Mustangs has again made a sustainable business plan possible. If the legacy you speak to is still fact I doubt Ford would have had anything to do with Shelby Automobiles, the name notwithstanding. Then, too, the period of misapplied deposits saw many angry posts on this site, excoriating Shelby as once-hopeful owners described the fraud done them in painful detail. We haven't seen anything like that for several years.

Ol' Shel was a mongrel. He'd bite and lick your hand at the same time and leave you wanting to reach out the next time you saw him. When he wasn't hiring mongrels in his own image-Don Rager comes to mind-he was able to attract the serious, professional support he himself was incapable of providing. Amy Boylan was one of those. Thankfully he also had the uncommon good sense to stay out of the way of people whose work he knew he needed but did not himself understand.

[REAL 1]

Interesting claim by Becker as I recall he touted himself as the largest Shelby Cobra dealer with plenty of cars in stock. Thats what I recall from his ads.

[kayakjack]

There are lots of unanswered questions. The answers may well not be good.

If Becker initiated a lawsuit saying cars are not being delivered to him, what do you think that does to his sales to people who he would like to place a deposit down?

I suspect that Shelby International is doing sigificant business with Ford, that undelivered cars would not be a Ponzi deal. Shelby International should have enough $ to build new cars that have been ordered.

So why would Shelby not deliver to Becker. Hard to figure. Any of the reputable builders (Kirkham, ERA, Superformance, Factory Five, others I am forgetting) would be delighted to take your money and build you great product. So why is this different? Beats me.

My concern over customers being hung out to dry with outstanding deposits wasn't so much over a suspect Ponzi scheme. It was/is if you put two and two together---- First, Becker says cars he ordered from Shelby have not been delivered. Second given the nature of this business, he may have taken deposits from customers for cars in good faith. So IF these two things are true (don't know), there may be customers who placed deposits who are left out to dry.

Anyone have any ideas how this could happen?

Jack

[Rick Parker]

Based on all of Mr. Becker's posts here on ClubCobra, it would seem that the one thing he had plenty of....was cars.

Sounds like what Shelby did with the raag back in the day, just a way to "Get the word out"??

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by computerworks

A really strange piece of litigation.



Based on all of Mr. Becker's posts here on ClubCobra, it would seem that the one thing he had plenty of....was cars.

I don't know about this. Here's what I think is/was his last post:

10 New CSX 427 S/C Shelby Cobra CSX 6000 Cars For Sale

Sounds like he was hoping for some cars, but I guess he never got them. I have to assume that he would really have to think two or three times about suing SA since, well, SA loves a good lawsuit when it sees one.

I will never understand SA's business model.

[mickmate]

I wonder who wrote the original posters article? It sounds like bar speak version of a legal proceedings with reference to "pocketing" money and "high ticket Cobras". Inducing??? That's what you do with comas, I think enticing was the word he missed in the thesaurus.
When businesses receive an order for something it's standard practice to receive money from them, usually it's put in their bank not their pocket.
Stephens post on the 10 Cobras that "are either in production or en route" was only 4 months ago. That's not years but some customers have waited years that Stephen has jumped in and helped out. He has been used to shuffling things around on a production schedule that's hard to adhere to.

[mrmustang]

Ladies and Gents,

Just as a FYI, this is not the first lawsuit that Mr Becker has brought against SAI, or vice versa. Kind of a whole love/hate thing going on here where we are all "Alice" peering "through the looking glass" .


I'll leave it at that.


Bill S.

[csx7073]

I had to pay for my csx7000 car in full before it left South Africa on SA's insistance. Obviously they had no money to pay the manufacturer themselves so they made the dealer and I fork over the cash before it was put on the boat. Guess who was on the hook for $70k if something happened during the month long transport to Vegas?? Me.

The Dealer told me that it was in his contract with SA that the car was FOB Vegas. But Shelby changed the rules...and if you want the car I guess you just pay up.

[stephen_becker]

MRMUSTANG is incorrect in his supposed statement of fact - I have never sued SAI nor have they ever sued me

[stephen_becker]

.......until now