Consultant takes case against car dealer over Ferrari sale

A medical consultant at Waterford Regional Hospital, who agreed to trade in his Ferrari in part exchange for a McLaren MP4 sports car, never received his new car, the High Court has heard.

Dr Edward O’Donnell has begun proceedings against a Dublin-registered car dealership and one of its directors over their failure to supply him with a 2012 McLaren MP4 12C which was to be part-funded by the sale of his Ferrari California.

The court heard that despite receiving numerous assurances he would either get the McLaren or receive a refund following the sale of the Ferrari, he had received neither.

Dr O Donnell, of The Fairways, Faithlegg, Co Waterford, a consultant obstetrician, asked the High Court for temporary freezing orders against Ocean Vehicle Trading Ltd, with a registered address at Sandyford Industrial Estate, Dublin 18, and its director Oisin Legaspi.

Under the terms of injunctions granted by Mr Justice Anthony Barr, the company and Mr Legaspi are restrained from reducing or disposing of assets in the State below a value of €150,000.

Dr O’Donnell is also asking the defendants to disclose a complete record of any assets held by them. The court heard he first came into contact with Mr Legaspi, who was then working for another company, in 2013 during the course of his purchasing the Ferrari.

He said he had been regularly contacted by Mr Legaspi asking if he wanted to upgrade his Ferrari and in June last made an arrangement to trade in his Ferrari for the McLaren.

Mr O'Donnell said he had not been concerned over the following two months as the sourcing of specialist sports cars can take time and had been informed in a text message from Mr Legaspi in August that the new car was on its way to Ireland.

The car was never delivered and he had become concerned following an exchange of texts and calls with mr Legaspi. Despite having been assured the McLaren was en route, he eventually asked Mr Legaspi for either the return of the Ferrari, delivery of the McLaren or his money back.

Later he discovered the Ferrari had been sold for €137,300, through a company that had been dissolved last March, but had been assured in an email in late August that the money from that sale would be refunded to him.

He told the court that in spite of numerous assurances from Mr Legaspi no refund had materialised. He later discovered all the cars for sale had been removed from the company’s website.

Mr O’Donnell said he had recently called to the registered offices of Ocean Vehicle Trading Ltd at Rockwood Business Centre, Q House Furze Road, Sandyford Industrial Estate, which he had assumed was the firm’s trading address.

He said from a visit to the Sandyford address it was clear it was only a post box address and no trade was being conducted from that location by the company. To the best of his knowledge there was no premises owned by Ocean Vehicle Trading at which stock was kept or available for viewing.

He said the Sandyford building he had visited had been used only for photographing cars to be exhibited on the company website. It was clear to him his Ferrari had been pictured there before its sale.

Mr Justice Barr adjourned the proceedings for a week.