04 March 2022
Only 40 Ferrari 250 GTOs were made between 1962 and 1964, and because of their rarity, they are very highly valued.
It is not difficult to understand how people, in this case, siblings, could be at each other’s throats. If one of the clan sold a motor car owned by all three siblings without permission, legal warfare is inevitable.
The particular motor car in question is a 1964 Ferrari 250 GTO owned by Pierre Bardinon, a French luxury goods tycoon.
Following his death, Patrick, Bardinons youngest son, sold the Ferrari to a collector in Taiwan for £36 million in 2014, without permission of his brother, Jean-Francois or his older sister, Anne, both of whom believed the 250 GTO was gifted to all three siblings equally.
In moved the lawyers; the defence lawyer acting for Patrick argued that the car was gifted to him but could not provide evidence confirming the gift. As can be imagined, drawn out over many years, the case with the attendant astronomic legal costs could not be an out of court settlement, much to the pleasure of the attorneys from all sides.
Due to the size of any potential settlements, the case went to the Cour de Cassation, one of the four courts of last resort. The court did not rule in favour of Patrick, meaning that he had to reimburse his siblings fully.
And that is not the end of the story. Pierre Baridon amassed a significant fortune. A large portion of that fortune was an enviable collection of Ferraris, which has created even more vast legal fees whilst establishing title to and who inherits which ones.