Ford sues John Cena for reselling recently purchased Ford GT(Update: Settled, money goes to charity)

FriskyCanuck · Dec 1, 2017

Update: Cena settled with Ford, money will go to charity.

https://jalopnik.com/john-cena-settles-lawsuit-with-ford-over-selling-his-fo-1826933093

Professional wrestler and former Ford GT owner John Cena has settled the lawsuit with Ford over the sale of his Ford GT. Cena was contractually obligated to keep the limited-run supercar for 24 months, but sold his anyway. Now he is settling that lawsuit with Ford for an undisclosed amount, which Ford will donate to charity, per an announcement made by Cena's legal team today.

The re-sale restriction – common for the world's most exclusive cars – was part of an extensive owner selection process to ensure the passion and aura surrounding the Ford GT is maintained.

"I love the Ford GT and apologize to Ford, and encourage others who own the car to respect the contract," said Cena. "I am pleased we could resolve this matter outside of court, and that a worthy charity will benefit from one of the most iconic cars in the world."

Ford filed its lawsuit when Cena sold his car soon after taking delivery, claiming that Cena violated the program requirement that original owners need to maintain ownership for 24 months after purchase.

https://jalopnik.com/john-cena-is-being-sued-by-ford-for-reselling-his-new-f-1820913011

Remember how Ford hand-picked its buyers for the $450,000-plus Ford GT supercar? Wrestler John Cena was one of the 500 lucky ones who got one, but he quickly sold the car afterwards. Now Ford is taking him to court, as buyers were contractually obligated to keep the car for two years before selling it.

Automakers tend to cringe when their rare supercars are resold for a higher price after they're sold. For one, that means they're not the ones making the big bucks off of their own products. Marques like Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Ford heavily discourage buyers from flipping their cars, sometimes using contracts like the one Cena signed for the Ford GT. If the company finds out you made a profit flipping your new supercar, it often means you won't be invited to purchase future rare offerings from that marque.

Ford Motor Company is taking things a step further however—the company filed a lawsuit Thursday against Cena in the U.S. District Court in Michigan for breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment. The suit alleges that Cena flipped the car for a significant profit too soon after his purchase in violation of the contract he signed with Ford to purchase the 2017 Ford GT:

"Mr. Cena has unfairly made a large profit from the unauthorized resale flip of the vehicle, and Ford has suffered additional damages and losses, including, but not limited to, loss of brand value, ambassador activity, and customer goodwill due to the improper sale."

Per the lawsuit, Ford made the rules on reselling the 2017 GT extra clear to its buyers at numerous times during the purchase process. The Order Confirmation that Cena signed for the car reads:

"By signing this Order Confirmation Form you are verifying the following: ... (B) You understand that being selected for the opportunity to purchase this vehicle is non-transferable and agree not to sell the vehicle within the first 24 months of delivery."

Cena took delivery of the car on September 23, 2017, yet Ford learned that he sold it on October 20, 2017—less than a month after he got it. Cena confirmed to Ford that he had sold it in a phone conversation with a company representative shortly afterwards. He promised to work with Ford to make what they called an "unlawful sale" right, but Ford claims he has not.

DGenerator · Dec 1, 2017

Didn't see it coming.

Deleted member 4367 · Dec 1, 2017

Being selected for the opportunity to purchase this vehicle.

Oh brother.

Deleted member 9317 · Dec 1, 2017

Cena will ram Rakishi with a Ford, confirmed.

Officer Big Mac · Dec 1, 2017

A $450,000 Ford?

lmao

Deleted member 16876 · Dec 1, 2017

I wonder how they saw him selling the car.

chrisPjelly · Dec 1, 2017

Clearly a vehicle for jobbers

FireSafetyBear · Dec 1, 2017

Mr. Cena has unfairly made a large profit from the unauthorized resale flip of the vehicle, and Ford has suffered additional damages and losses, including, but not limited to, loss of brand value, ambassador activity, and customer goodwill due to the improper sale."

Lol because you could have sold it for more but chose not to you're mad somebody else did

Kirblar · Dec 1, 2017

MasterYoshi · Dec 1, 2017

John Cena applying the
S

Sell

T

The

F

Ford

Deleted member 11262 · Dec 1, 2017

Teh Hamburglar said:
A $450,000 Ford?

lmao

Yeah, my reaction exactly.

EchoChamber · Dec 1, 2017

Is that legal?

Deleted member 9479 · Dec 1, 2017

Has this sort of clause been tested in court before?

Pacote · Dec 1, 2017

Not everything thats written on a contract may apply...

Wonder if thats one of those cases... it would be funny af is he actually wins....

HStallion · Dec 1, 2017

Cena should challenge them to a hell in the cell match to settle things personally.

Xe4 · Dec 1, 2017

This is a situation where Ford is very clearly in the right yet they're still massive dickholes. Don't give out only a limited number of collectibles and then get mad when people want to flip them.

GSG · Dec 1, 2017

Teh Hamburglar said:
A $450,000 Ford?

lmao

And worth every penny

Shadow2222 · Dec 1, 2017

Teh Hamburglar said:
A $450,000 Ford?

lmao

As silly as a $100,000 Nissan - except both the Nissan GT-R and Ford GT are amazing

Deleted member 3345 · Dec 1, 2017

If they sold it to him full owner ship, then fuck off.

If you don't want that to happen give it to him as a lease with the obligations.

Proteus · Dec 1, 2017

GSG said:
And worth every penny

Have you driven a Ford lately?

Shadow2222 · Dec 1, 2017

Proteus said:
Have you driven a Ford lately?

Are you saying a normal Ford is similar to a specially designed, extremely limited supercar that is made to compete with Ferrari and Lamborghini?

Extra Sauce · Dec 1, 2017

Loss of brand value?

Yeah I'm sure suing a beloved celebrity is going to do wonders for your brand value.

Officer Big Mac · Dec 1, 2017

GSG said:
And worth every penny

opus · Dec 1, 2017

That's ridiculous.

Cena doesn't sell anything.

vatstep · Dec 1, 2017

gutter_trash · Dec 1, 2017

everyone must live within their means, including celebs and athletes

WaffleTaco · Dec 1, 2017

Lol he's so screwed. Dude could have waited two years. No sympathy for him.

Sly Chimera · Dec 1, 2017

How stupid can you be to buy a $450,000 ford and then break the contract and sell it

D6AMIA6N · Dec 1, 2017

Richter1887 said:
I wonder how they saw him selling the car.

I sensibly chuckled

I'm certain the multi millionaire dollar celebrity is shitting his pants. Give me a break era

Pacote · Dec 1, 2017

Deleted member 1086 · Dec 1, 2017

Teh Hamburglar said:
A $450,000 Ford?

lmao

I don't see how it's any more laughable than any other car that costs that much.

Deleted member 8852 · Dec 1, 2017

Uh, if he signed the contract not to sell it for the first 24 months then he's the one who fucked up.

MMarston · Dec 1, 2017

Sly Chimera said:
How stupid can you be to buy a $450,000 ford and then break the contract and sell it

On top of that, it's an awful-looking car too.

Richietto · Dec 1, 2017

I mean a contracts a contract, but come on now. Suing Cena will cause more brand damage then him selling your new model.

SpecX · Dec 1, 2017

Teh Hamburglar said:
A $450,000 Ford?

lmao

Not sure what's funny. This isn't a Focus or Mustang class Ford, this is their fine crafted super car with a historical name attached to it.

Sucks for Cena, but he signed the contract and Ford was very clear on what their policy was with selling this. Curious to see if this holds up in court, but I'm sure Ford vetting this through their lawyers before they made this offer to those select customers.

Taurus Silver · Dec 1, 2017

Such a weird story. Hope Cena comes out with the W in this case.

Lunaray · Dec 1, 2017

GSG said:
And worth every penny

Sorry, this just screams tacky to me. Maybe I'm just not a sports car person.

Deleted member 224 · Dec 1, 2017

That's a pretty stupid clause. If I buy something that's a physical thing, I should be able to do what I want with it. Drive it, sell it, destroy it, whatever.

Bakercat · Dec 1, 2017

Did he do it for The Rock though?

TangoAlphaLima · Dec 1, 2017

EchoChamber said:
Is that legal?

There are some exceptions obviously, but for the most part, if it's in the terms of the contract, it's legal.

I think this one would absolutely hold up in court.

JDSpades said:
That's a pretty stupid clause. If I buy something that's a physical thing, I should be able to do what I want with it. Drive it, sell it, destroy it, whatever.

And for the most part you're right. But you also don't enter into a contract to purchase most goods. And this contract explicitly prohibited Cena from reselling for 24 months, designating damages that could result from this breach.

trevofour · Dec 1, 2017

You Can't Sue Me

julia crawford · Dec 1, 2017

Proteus said:
Have you driven a Ford lately?

Ford's been doing great in Europe

Prinz Eugn · Dec 1, 2017

Doug explains: "Here's Why the 2017 Ford GT Is Worth $500,000"

I'm not a car person, but it's still pretty interesting what goes into these things, and what people look for.

Scubamonk · Dec 1, 2017

opus said:
That's ridiculous.

Cena doesn't sell anything.

You win the thread.

mreddie · Dec 1, 2017

The one thing Cena could sell and it's about to backfire.

Jarrod38 · Dec 1, 2017

Hope Ford wins. You sign a contract and you must go by what the contract says.

Proteus · Dec 1, 2017

John Kowalski said:
Ford's been doing great in Europe

I'm too old.

HellforLeather · Dec 1, 2017

Whats even more dumb is this car will more than likely go up in value even more in 2 years.

Deleted member 1086 · Dec 1, 2017

JDSpades said:
That's a pretty stupid clause. If I buy something that's a physical thing, I should be able to do what I want with it. Drive it, sell it, destroy it, whatever.

It's clearly a marketing thing. Ford is counting on people like Cena to use this car as a status symbol type thing, hence why after two years it won't matter and they can do what they want with it.

excelsiorlef · Dec 1, 2017

It's worth noting Cena applied to buy the car

Ford picked a number of celebrities and other "influencers" to own its new GT, no doubt because they could broadcast how cool the car was to more people. Cena, a known car collector who also had a 2006 Ford GT, was chosen out of approximately 7,000 applicants to buy the car after touting his reach and car-nut cred, per the text of the lawsuit. Ford clearly wanted its GT owners to continue to be seen driving the GT for a while to positively represent its brand.

He basically said look let me buy the car, I can get the word out and whatever... and then he flipped it.

Ford sues John Cena for reselling recently purchased Ford GT(Update: Settled, money goes to charity)

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