Some stories just run. . . and run. A US Supreme Court decision this week means former auto executive, John De Lorean, who promised so much for Northern Ireland, can no longer avoid paying £2.8 million sterling in legal fees to his attorney, Mayer Morganroth.

The court declined to hear De Lorean's appeal of a lower court decision awarding the money to Michigan firm, Morganroth and Morganroth.

The firm represented the one-time General Motors Corp executive for a decade in some 40 legal entanglements, including his divorce and various tax, civil and criminal cases. But most stemmed from the collapse of De Lorean's ill-fated sports car venture in the North in the 1980s.

Morganroth contends De Lorean holds upward of £12 million in assets, including land, buildings, artwork and money in escrow, and those assets may be seized for payment of the judgment. But De Lorean said: "I don't have any money. . . I haven't had any money for a long time, primarily because of his incompetence."